BJP Member of Parliament, Nishikant Dubey, has penned a letter addressed to Union Minister of Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and the Union Minister of State (MoS) of IT, Rajeev Chandrashekhar. In this letter, he is seeking a thorough investigation into accusations related to alleged bribery associated with the 'bribe for questions' claim against Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament, Mahua Moitra.
On a preceding Sunday, Dubey composed a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla in which he detailed his reception of a letter from a Supreme Court attorney. This attorney had shared what Dubey refers to as "irrefutable" evidence of purported bribes exchanged between Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani. Dubey likens this situation to the 2005 'Cash for Query' scandal, urging the Speaker to establish a probe panel to investigate these allegations.
Citing these allegations, Dubey, in his letter to the IT Minister, has requested an investigation into whether Mahua Moitra provided her login credentials for the Lok Sabha website to Hiranandani and his real-estate conglomerate, Hiranandani Group. The purpose of this would be for them to "utilize it for their own personal gain." Dubey asserts that this allegation is "possibly the most damning and grave of all the charges" against her and, if proven true, would "constitute a serious criminal breach of trust as well as a violation of India's national security."
Additionally, Dubey has called for an investigation to ascertain the IP address associated with all login credentials of Moitra's Lok Sabha account. He is looking to determine whether there were any instances where her account was accessed from a location where she was not physically present. In his letter, Dubey states, "In addition, I request that you determine whether there are any instances in which her Lok Sabha account was accessed at a location in which she was not present."
Describing Moitra's behavior as "immoral, unlawful, and detrimental to the nation's security," Dubey urges the IT Ministry to treat these allegations against her with the "utmost seriousness."
In response, Mahua Moitra has countered Dubey's accusations, urging the IT Ministry to release the login details of all Members of Parliament. She took to social media to state, "All parliamentary work of MPs done by PAs, assistants, interns, large teams. Respected Ashwini Vaishnaw, please release details of the location and login details of ALL MPs with CDRs. Please release info on training given to staff to log in."
In his Sunday letter to the speaker, Nishikant Dubey claimed that the Supreme Court attorney had determined that 50 out of 61 questions raised by the Trinamool MP in the Lok Sabha until recently sought information "with the intent of protecting or perpetuating business interests" of Darshan Hiranandani and his business group. He contended that the "questions were also often focused on the Adani Group," a rival business conglomerate.
He maintained that these questions were posed in exchange for monetary compensation and gifts.
Responding to these allegations, Mahua Moitra responded on social media, stating, "Am using all my ill-gotten cash & gifts to buy a college/university in which Degree Dubey can finally buy a real degree."
She also made a reference to the Adani Group, warning them against relying on information from questionable sources to discredit her. "If the Adani group is relying on a dodgy dossier created by dubious Sanghis & circulated by fake degree holders to either shut me up or bring me down, I would advise them not to waste their time. Use your lawyers wisely," the Trinamool MP tweeted.
A spokesperson for the Adani Group released a statement on Monday, noting that the bribery allegations against Moitra corroborate their previous statement on October 9, 2023. The spokesperson stated, "The development corroborates our statement on 9 October 2023 that some groups and individuals have been working overtime to harm our name, goodwill, and market standing. In this particular case, a lawyer's complaint reveals that this arrangement to besmirch the reputation and interests of the Adani Group and our chairman Gautam Adani has been in place since 2018."
Meanwhile, the Hiranandani Group has dismissed the allegations, with a spokesperson asserting that the conglomerate has consistently collaborated with the government in the interest of the nation and will continue to do so.
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