NEW DELHI: Surrounded by party colleagues and opposition members at the Gandhi statue inside Parliament, a defiant Mahua Moitra said her expulsion was the “most tenacious witch-hunt of one of 78 women MPs, a first-timer, a single woman with no political lineage, from a far-flung constituency on the Bangladesh border”.
Invoking Nari Shakti, she added, “You cannot handle power and authority.I am 49 years old, I will fight you for the next 30 years, inside and outside Parliament.”
Flanked by leaders of the INDIA bloc, who staged a walkout from Lok Sabha, Mahua read out a speech that she had prepared to place on the floor of the House. “If this Modi government thought that by shutting me up, they are going to do away with the Adani issue, let me tell you this, this kangaroo court has only shown to the whole of India that the haste and the abuse of due process you have used demonstrates how important Mr Adani is to you,” she said.
Claiming that “one of the two complainants” was her estranged partner, she said, “Tomorrow, the CBI will be sent to my house I am sure. They will harass me for the next six months, but I would like to ask what about theRs 13,000 crore coal scam of Adani that CBI and ED have not looked at.”
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on X, “It’s a complete travesty. Fortunately, it has only strengthened Mahua Moitra who is now likely to be re-elected with a bigger majority. Also, do note how the INDIA parties all stood with her. Another good augury.”
His party colleague Karti Chidambaram used the analogy of Sri Lankan cricketer Angelo Mathews’s timed-out dismissal in the recent World Cup while slamming the government. “In India, people do not mind if one is defeated, they do not like it when you humiliate someone,” he added.
CPM MP John Brittas said an articulate member was dismissed from Lok Sabha. “She has been a vocal critic of the Modi government. The charges that have been hurled at her are so flimsy that they do not stand scrutiny,” he added.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav posted on X, “If the method used to expel opposition MPs from Parliament is applied on the ruling party, it will leave them with only a handful MPs in both Houses.”
Invoking Nari Shakti, she added, “You cannot handle power and authority.I am 49 years old, I will fight you for the next 30 years, inside and outside Parliament.”
Flanked by leaders of the INDIA bloc, who staged a walkout from Lok Sabha, Mahua read out a speech that she had prepared to place on the floor of the House. “If this Modi government thought that by shutting me up, they are going to do away with the Adani issue, let me tell you this, this kangaroo court has only shown to the whole of India that the haste and the abuse of due process you have used demonstrates how important Mr Adani is to you,” she said.
Claiming that “one of the two complainants” was her estranged partner, she said, “Tomorrow, the CBI will be sent to my house I am sure. They will harass me for the next six months, but I would like to ask what about theRs 13,000 crore coal scam of Adani that CBI and ED have not looked at.”
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on X, “It’s a complete travesty. Fortunately, it has only strengthened Mahua Moitra who is now likely to be re-elected with a bigger majority. Also, do note how the INDIA parties all stood with her. Another good augury.”
His party colleague Karti Chidambaram used the analogy of Sri Lankan cricketer Angelo Mathews’s timed-out dismissal in the recent World Cup while slamming the government. “In India, people do not mind if one is defeated, they do not like it when you humiliate someone,” he added.
CPM MP John Brittas said an articulate member was dismissed from Lok Sabha. “She has been a vocal critic of the Modi government. The charges that have been hurled at her are so flimsy that they do not stand scrutiny,” he added.
SP chief Akhilesh Yadav posted on X, “If the method used to expel opposition MPs from Parliament is applied on the ruling party, it will leave them with only a handful MPs in both Houses.”