Cash-For-Query Case: Ethics Panel Report On Mahua Moitra To Be Tabled In Lok Sabha Tomorrow

The parliamentary ethics committee is likely to present its report on the cash-for-query allegations against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in the Lok Sabha tomorrow (December 8), news agency PTI reported citing sources. If presented, the committee is expected to recommend Moitra's expulsion from parliament.

Speaking on the matter, TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay said, "Today I spoke with the Speaker, and he said that this committee report along with other reports will be tabled tomorrow. I said that TMC MP Mahua Moitra should be given a chance to speak," ANI quoted him as saying. 

#WATCH | On Ethics Committee report on TMC MP Mahua Moitra, TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay says, "Today I spoke with the Speaker, and he said that this committee report along with other reports will be tabled tomorrow. I said that TMC MP Mahua Moitra should be given a chance to… pic.twitter.com/PCGqZU45Sk

— ANI (@ANI) December 7, 2023

On the BJP's stance, MP Dilip Ghosh stated, "Everything will be done according to the procedure of the Parliament". 

#WATCH | On Ethics Committee report on TMC MP Mahua Moitra, BJP MP Dilip Ghosh says, "Everything will be done according to the procedure of the Parliament..." pic.twitter.com/fUtvbVjCFY

— ANI (@ANI) December 7, 2023

Anticipating a division of votes on the report, the Opposition is gearing up for the development, the report said. The BJP has issued a whip to its MPs, instructing them to be present in the house tomorrow.

Six members of the ethics committee voted in favour of the report, while four opposition members issued dissent notes, branding the report as a "fixed match". 

Moitra and other Opposition MPs had walked out of the ethics committee meeting on November 2, questioning the meeting's conduct. In response, the committee asserted that Moitra had not cooperated and left to evade further questioning.

Referring to the individual who filed the complaint with the CBI, Moitra called Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai her "jilted ex". The complaint led to calls for an investigation into allegations that Moitra provided her parliament login ID to businessman Darshan Hiranandani to target the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

While Moitra denies the cash-for-query accusations, she admitted to sharing her parliamentary login ID with businessman Darshan Hiranandani.

In an affidavit, Hiranandani alleged that Moitra shared her MP email to receive information and raise questions in parliament. He further claimed that she later provided him with her parliament login and password for posting questions directly.

The ethics committee had reached out to the Information Technology Ministry and the Home Ministry to investigate the alleged misuse of Moitra's parliament login ID and password.