The summons to appear before the Lok Sabha's Ethics Committee was issued to Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra and this development transpired mere hours after the Ethics Committee's inaugural meeting earlier in the day. The summons, in response to the cash-for-query charge against her, has set October 31 as the date for her appearance before the committee, as revealed by sources familiar with the matter.
Mahua Moitra has been embroiled in allegations accusing her of accepting bribes in exchange for raising queries within Parliament. The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha, assembled to address this issue, proceeded to call her to appear before it.
Moreover, during the committee's deliberations, the panel elicited statements from Nishikant Dubey, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP who filed the complaint, and Jai Anant Dehadrai, an attorney affiliated with the Supreme Court. Dehadrai had alleged that Mahua Moitra engaged in bribery to pose inquiries directed at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani within the parliamentary context.
In his complaint to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Biral, Nishikant Dubey supported his contentions with documents shared by Dehadrai, claiming that 50 out of the 61 questions she posed in the Lok Sabha were concentrated on the Adani Group.
Subsequently, Om Biral referred the issue to the committee, which is led by BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar.
Dubey has firmly maintained that the attorney, who had a previous association with Moitra that soured, submitted incontrovertible evidence illustrating the financial transactions connected to bribery between her and businessman Darshan Hiranandani. The intent behind these transactions, according to Dubey, was to target the Prime Minister and the Adani Group.
He stated his willingness to respond to any inquiries presented to him, affirming his readiness to face the committee and submit any requested information. He also emphasized that the documents substantiated his claims, and it now falls upon whether Mahua is, indeed, culpable of any wrongdoing.
Conversely, Mahua Moitra has refuted all the allegations leveled against her as mere falsehoods disseminated by a scorned former associate. Furthermore, she accused the Adani Group of conspiring against her to obstruct her from addressing questions to the conglomerate. Additionally, she asserted that the BJP orchestrated a plot with the aim of unseating her from the Lok Sabha.
Reacting to these allegations, the Trinamool Congress has advocated for a thorough investigation by the appropriate parliamentary forum. The party, under the leadership of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, has advised Mahua Moitra to elucidate her position concerning the allegations.
Derek O'Brien, a TMC MP, commented on the matter, stating, "We have observed reports in the media. The member concerned has been advised by the party leadership to clarify her position regarding the allegations leveled against her. She has already done that. However, since the matter has to do with an elected MP, let the matter be investigated by the right forum of Parliament- after which the party leadership will take an appropriate decision."
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