The Lok Sabha on Friday expelled Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra from Parliament in a cash-for-query case. Earlier in the day, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee submitted a report recommending Moitra’s expulsion from the House.
In October, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, based on a complaint by Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, alleged that the Krishnagar MP had asked questions in Parliament in exchange for cash and gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani whose business interests conflicted with those of industrialist Gautam Adani.
In an affidavit to the Ethics Committee on October 19, Hiranandani claimed that Moitra provided him with her login ID and password for the Lok Sabha members’ website so that he could “post questions” directly “on her behalf when required”
The opposition staged a walkout before the passing of the motion moved by Minister of Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi. Earlier, Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla disallowed Moitra from speaking in the house, saying that she had been given the opportunity at the panel meet, leading to the former walking out shouting “I have a right to be heard”.
(With inputs from agencies)
News Mania Desk /Photo Credit -Sipra Das (National Consulting Photo Editor)
8th December 2023, Parliament ,New Delhi
