Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra is scheduled to appear before the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha on Thursday in the ongoing cash-for-query row.
In which she has been accused of taking bribes to ask questions in Parliament. Moitra had requested a summon date after November 5, citing pre-scheduled Vijaya Dashami programmes, but the ethics panel declined it and asked the TMC MP to appear on November 2.
In two letters to the ethics panel, Moitra has spoken about her wish to “cross-examine” businessman Darshan Hiranandani, CEO of real-estate conglomerate Hiranandani Group, and Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai. She also questioned if the ethics panel was the right forum to investigate such alleged criminalities, and mentioned that if it relies on any document from any department, then she should also be given a copy and allowed to cross-examine the department concerned.
Ahead of her appearance, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey took a dig at Moitra by taking to X. “Now even Sukesh Chandrashekhar (thug) is demanding cross examination,” he tweeted.
Moitra’s appearance before the ethics panel will come a day after sources close to the BJP told India Today TV that her Parliament account was accessed 47 times from Dubai. The sources also revealed that she undertook 14 unaccounted trips abroad during her tenure as a Member of Parliament. They alleged that the Lok Sabha Speaker’s (Om Birla) office was not provided with the necessary information pertaining to these trips.
The revelations came amid allegations by Hiranandani that the TMC MP gave him her Parliament login details to ask questions about the Adani Group, in a bid to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Hiranandani made the claim in a ‘sworn affidavit’ that he submitted to the ethics panel. Moitra, however, has repeatedly junked the allegations, saying the businessman – a longtime close friend of the TMC MP – was forced to write the ‘affidavit’ by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
In her first exclusive interview since the cash-for-query row surfaced, Moitra told India Today TV that the only things she received as gifts from Hiranandani were “one scarf, lipstick, and eye shadow”. Her remarks referenced accusations that she received gifts from the businessman to ask questions in Parliament.
The row started after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey wrote a letter to Om Birla and then to the ethics panel on Moitra taking bribes for questions. He based his letter on Jai Anant Dehadrai’s claim of having “irrefutable evidence” regarding the TMC MP taking bribes. Dehadrai is said to be the estranged partner of Moitra, and the former couple is currently fighting over the custody of their pet Rotweiler. Moitra has refuted all allegations, and slammed Dubey and Dehadrai with “fake degree MP” and “jilted ex” barbs.
Dubey has already appeared before the ethics panel in the cash-for-query row.