Cash for query case: Expelled TMC MP Mahua Moitra asked to vacate govt bungalow

Days after her expulsion from the Lok Sabha over the alleged cash-for-query case, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has been instructed to vacate her official bungalow. According to the media reports, the Housing Committee of Parliament wrote to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, directing Moitra to do so.

On December 8, Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha as the House adopted the report of its Ethics Committee that held her guilty of receiving gifts from a businessman to ask questions in the parliament.  Retaliating to the action taken against her, Mahua Moitra on Monday approached the Supreme Court stating that the decision to expel her from Lok Sabha was "illegal".

The probe was initiated by the Ethics Committee based on the complaint filed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. The committee's report found Moitra guilty of "unethical conduct" and contempt of the House by sharing her Lok Sabha website login credentials, with businessman Darshan Hiranandani.  The motion stated, the Trinamool MP's "conduct has further been found to be unbecoming as a member of parliament for accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest which is a serious misdemeanour and highly deplorable conduct" on her part.

A comparable scenario occurred when Rahul Gandhi, a Congress leader, was instructed to vacate his government-assigned residence at 12, Tughlaq Lane by April 22, shortly after he faced disqualification as a Lok Sabha member. As per the regulation, a disqualified parliamentarian is not eligible for government accommodation and is granted a 30-day duration to evacuate the official residence.