Mahua Moitra moves Supreme Court to challenge expulsion from Lok Sabha in ‘cash-for-query’ case.The Lok Sabha Secretariat on Friday issued a notification announcing the expulsion of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra from the lower house over the ‘cash-for-query’ allegations.The notification came hours after Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha as the House adopted a report of its Ethics Committee that held her guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest. “Consequent on the adoption of a Motion by the Lok Sabha on the 8th December, 2023 expelling Smt. Mahua Moitra, an elected member from the Krishnanagar Parliamentary Constituency of West Bengal from the membership of Lok Sabha, Smt. Mahua Moitra has ceased to be a member of Lok Sabha with effect from the 8th December, 2023 afternoon,” the notification read.
Moitra, 49, was accused of taking bribes, including ₹ 2 crore in cash and "luxury gift items", from businessman Darshan Hiranandani, in exchange for asking questions critical of the government in Parliament. Moitra was also accused of surrendering log-in credentials to her personal and confidential account on the parliamentary website, so Mr Hiranandani could post questions directly. A fiery critic of the Modi government, Ms Moitra had denied the bribery charges but admitted to sharing the log-in details. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is also Ms Moitra's party boss, called the expulsion "unacceptable" and said that "vendetta politics of (the) BJP had killed democracy".Hours earlier the Ethics Committee presented its report - a nearly 500-page tome - in the House, triggering a furious row between the ruling BJP and the opposition, including Ms Moitra's party. In the brief discussion that followed, apoplectic opposition MPs demanded more time to study the material, and fought for Ms Moitra to be allowed to speak.