Mahua Moitra, a member of Parliament from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), accused the committee of leaking her summons regarding the cash-for-query case to the media and responded with a two-page letter to the parliamentary panel on Wednesday.
(Image source : PTI)
About the letter to the Ethics Panel
In the letter, she asked to “cross-examine” businessman Darshan Hiranandani, who claimed the MP had given him access to her official login credentials and had accepted bribes in exchange for her questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the Adani Group in the Parliament. She also claimed that Darshan Hiranandani and Jai Anant Dehadrai had offered “no documentary evidence” to support their accusations against her.
Although Mahua Moitra’s request to reschedule the hearing was denied, she wrote to the chairperson of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee to express her respect for the summons to appear before the panel on November 2. However, she questioned whether this was the right forum to look into claims of alleged criminality.
Mahua Moitra on X
She posted on X saying, “Since the Ethics Committee deemed it fit to release my summons to the media, I think it is important I too release my letter to the Committee before my hearing’ tomorrow.”
Further, Moitra claimed that despite her request to postpone the hearing date, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee “forced me to appear before it.” Regarding the case involving BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri’s use of non-parliamentary language directed at BSP MP Danish Ali, she made reference to another case. She accused the panel of applying “double standards” and claimed that the BJP MP in that case received “a different approach” than the BSP MP.
Hiranandani is a ‘bribe-giver’, says MP
The TMC MP referred to Hirnandani as a “bribe-giver” and stated that the businessman’s claims are unsupported by documentation and little information. She insisted on the businessman and herself being cross-examined by the relevant departments, from which the panel was to get a report on the matter.
The businessman had previously told the committee in an affidavit that he had received gifts in exchange for asking questions in Parliament, a claim Moitra has been denying on a number of platforms ever since BJP MP Nishikant Dubey brought up the issue.
According to the businessman, the TMC leader singled out Gautam Adani in an effort to “malign and embarrass” the Prime Minister. He further asserted that Moitra had attacked the Adani Group in Parliament because of information he had provided to her. She even asked whether the panel is the right place to investigate such allegations.
(Image source : PTI)
Different approach towards BJP
MP Mahua Moitra charged the Parliamentary panel of “double-standards,” referring to the no-hearing date granted to BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri following his offensive remarks against BSP MP Danish Ali.The MP for Trinamool Congress claimed that the panel’s stance in the matter of BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri, who is facing a “very serious complaint of hate speech” from the Privileges and Ethics branch, is significantly different.
For those who are unaware, Ramesh Bidhuri caused a great deal of controversy during the Monsoon session of Parliament when he made disparaging and anti-Muslim remarks about BSP MP Danish Ali. Ramesh Bidhuri received a show-cause notice from Party chief JP Nadda in response to the opposition’s demand that he be suspended
