Cash-for-query: Ethics Panel to table report in Lok Sabha seeking expulsion of TMC’s Mahua Moitra
Defence minister Rajnath Singh presided over a meeting of floor leaders of political parties in Parliament on Saturday, attended by parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi, Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Gaurav Gogoi and Pramod Tewari, TMC leaders Sudip Bandyopadhyay and Derek O’Brien and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Fouzia Khan, among others.
The results of the assembly elections in four states — Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana — on Sunday, are expected to heat up the political atmosphere further, with months to go for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The report of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee recommending expulsion of Moitra from Lok Sabha over a “cash-for-query” complaint is listed for tabling in the House on Monday, the first day of the session.
During the all-party meeting on Saturday, opposition parties, including TMC floor leaders, insisted on a discussion in the Lok Sabha regarding the Ethics Committee report before any decision is made to expel Moitra.
After the meeting, Tewari said the Opposition also insisted on a discussion in Parliament on issues such as the situation in Manipur, rising inflation, “misuse” of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the “imposition” of Hindi through the names of laws, particularly in reference to the three bills to replace criminal laws.
“We are ready for a discussion on any issue. But when you seek a short-duration discussion, you also have to ensure an atmosphere conducive for a debate in the House,” Joshi told reporters.
Shiv Sena leader Rahul Shewale said the House should discuss the issue of reservation for the Maratha and Dhangar communities, which were the subject of a hot debate in Maharashtra. RSP member N K Premachandran and AIADMK member M Thambi Durai opposed the “imposition” of Hindi by naming criminal laws Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) and Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which are set to replace the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act and the Code of Criminal Procedure respectively. “It is very difficult to pronounce as far as the people belonging to the south Indian states are concerned,” Premachandran said, adding that opposition parties will raise the issue during the Winter Session of Parliament.
The government has listed 19 bills and two financial agenda items for the Winter Session of Parliament.
JMM MP Mahua Maji demanded, “smaller parties barely get three minutes to speak in Parliament. We need more time to put across our views effectively.”