Cash for query case: Ethics panel report on Mahua Moitra to be tabled today in Lok Sabha

The Ethics Committee's report on the alleged "cash-for-query" case involving Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra is set to be presented in the Lower House on Friday. According to the revised agenda of Lok Sabha's business, Vinod Kumar Sonkar, the Ethics Panel's chairman, and member Aparajita Sarangi will present the 'First Report (in Hindi and English) of the Committee on Ethics' on Friday. This is listed as agenda number 7 for Friday's business.

The report was initially included in the agenda for the opening day of the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament but could not be addressed at that time. TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay asserted on Thursday that Mahua Moitra should be given an opportunity to speak. "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," stated the TMC MP.

Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali expressed anticipation that Mahua Moitra's case would be discussed in the Lok Sabha tomorrow. He emphasized the importance of allowing a thorough and constructive discussion on the matter in Lok Sabha. Meanwhile, BJP MP Dilip Ghosh assured that everything would be done according to the Parliament's procedures.

Winter Session of Parliament | Ethics Panel report on TMC MP Mahua Moitra to be tabled in the Lok Sabha tomorrow pic.twitter.com/2lKspC4hEq

— ANI (@ANI) December 7, 2023

The 500-page draft report, adopted by a 6:4 majority last month, reveals concerning details. According to sources, the draft report on Mahua Moitra's cash-for-questions case indicates that she visited the UAE four times from 2019 to 2023, with her login being accessed multiple times. Sources state that her member portal login credentials were accessed from Dubai on 47 occasions.

The draft report suggests that "serious misdemeanors on the part of Mahua Moitra call for severe punishment." It recommends her expulsion from the Membership of the Seventeenth Lok Sabha and urges a thorough, legal, institutional inquiry by the Government of India due to her alleged objectionable, unethical, heinous, and criminal conduct. The report accuses Mahua Moitra of 'Unethical Conduct' and 'Contempt of the House' by accepting money, cash and kind, amenities, and various other facilities from Darshan Hiranandani, a Business Tycoon based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Notably, Nishikant Dubey had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against Moitra, accusing her of targeting the Adani Group in Lok Sabha questions at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for gifts. However, several opposition leaders, including Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Danish Ali and Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, have opposed the report.