Smriti Irani reacts to Mahua Moitra row, says ‘gender shouldn’t be used as…’

Do not allow gender to be used as a shield for corruption as it would be a great disservice to women who fought for equality, said.

Union Minister Smriti Irani on Thursday, as she reacted to the ongoing cash-for-query row involving Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra.

In response to a question during a panel discussion hosted by the Public Affairs Forum of India, Irani first said it would be “unbecoming” of her to comment on allegations against Mahua Moitra as the matter is before an ethics committee.

However, she later said, “I would say that a distinction has to be made between corruption and the way of life.” The Minister of Women and Child Development was asked if Moitra is being targeted for her lifestyle as a woman.

“In the country, everybody is free to live their life as they so desire, but as parliamentarians we have an ethical, moral and legal duty towards the Constitution. So my submission to you as a woman would be that you don’t allow gender to be used as a shield for corruption, then you do a great disservice to the women who have fought for equality,” news agency PTI quoted her as saying.

Mahua Moitra found herself at the center of a cash-for-query row that began after Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Nishikant Dubey accused her of accepting bribes in the form of cash, gifts and favours for asking questions in Lok Sabha.

He alleged that Moitra accepted bribes at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani to target the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Dubey’s complaint regarding the allegations was sent to the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha headed by BJP member Vinod Kumar Sonkar. In his complaint, Dubey cited documents shared by advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai to back his cash-for-query allegations against Moitra.

It has been alleged that 50 questions out of 61 that the Trinamool MP asked in Parliament until recently were all asked with the intent of “protecting or perpetuating the business interests” of Darshan Hiranandani and his conglomerate.