Mahua: Cash-for-query row: ‘Gave Parliament login credentials to Darshan Hiranandani’, Mahua Moitra says | India News

NEW DELHI: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, during an exclusive interview with an English-language daily, admitted that she had entrusted her Parliament login credentials, comprising her login ID and password, to her acquaintance and businessman, Darshan Hiranandani. Her intention was to have someone at Hiranandani’s office assist in typing the questions she wished to submit in the Lok Sabha, she said.
However, she denied any involvement in accepting money from him, refuting the allegations made by Supreme Court advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai in his complaint to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Addressing the controversy surrounding her involvement in a ‘cash-for-query’ row for the first time, Mahua said, “Someone in Darshan Hiranandani’s office typed the question which I gave on the Parliament website. After putting the question, they would call me to inform and I would read all the questions in one go as I am always busy in my constituency. After putting the question, an OTP (one-time password) comes on my mobile phone. I would give that OTP and only then is the question submitted. So, the idea that Darshan would log in to my ID and put in questions of his own is ludicrous.”

In response to allegations made by BJP leader Nishikant Dubey, Mahua said, “Now that the cash-for-query has fallen flat, this is being made out to be some great issue of national security. Dubey has gone to the press and said that it is a national security issue. The NIC login has no rules as to who can have your login”.
In a written communication, the TMC MP conveyed her unavailability in Delhi on October 31 due to scheduled Vijaya Dashami meetings set to occur between October 30 and November 4.

Moitra further insisted that Hiranandani should appear before the ethics panel and produce verified records of all alleged gifts and favors that she purported to have received from him.
The Ethics Committee on October 26 also questioned BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Supreme Court lawyer and complainant Jai Anant Dehadrai on the issue. Dubey had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking an inquiry against Moitra and her immediate suspension from the house for taking cash for questioning. Birla had then referred the matter to the Ethics Committee.