A day after Moitra acknowledged that she had, as claimed by the complainants against her, shared her Parliament login details with businessman Darshan Hiranandani, the ethics panel asked her to appear on November 2 instead of October 31 as originally scheduled.The TMC MP had sought deferment of her session with the panel, citing engagements in her constituency till November 4.
The case against Mahua took an interesting turn on Friday when the MP, while talking to sections of the media, acknowledged having shared her Parliament login ID with Hiranandani, a businessman who had filed an affidavit corroborating claims of the complainants, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey & advocate Jay Anant Dehadrai.
Mahua says accepted gifts from Hiranandani, denies taking cash
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jay Anant Dehadrai had accused TMC MP Mahua Moitra of asking questions targeting the Adani Group at the instance of its business rival Hiranandani and, in return, getting favours from the latter.
In another twist in the case, TMC, which had kept quiet on the matter against their vocal MP, appeared to be coming out in her support by dismissing the parliamentary probe as “politically motivated”, according to news reports.
While admitting that she shared her Lok Sabha ID with Hiranandani, Moitra also accepted that she had taken gifts like scarves from the businessman, but denied having taken cash.
Dubey, however, said Moitra’s denial that she took cash from Hiranandani does not take away from the seriousness of the case against her. He posted a copy of the contract MPs sign with the National Informatics Centre, a public entity which handles websites of Parliament and other government bodies, which clearly lays down that sharing login ID with others would tantamount to breach of national security and is forbidden.
Dubey, of course, continued his attack on the TMC MP by saying that the country wanted to know how an MP sold herself out. “This is a matter of concern. It is a matter of national security and corruption… There should be an inquiry and appropriate action should be taken quickly,” the visibly satisfied BJP member said. Dubey also alleged that attempts are being made to influence the witness amid the ‘cash-for-query’ row and urged the Lok Sabha Speaker to take action.
“According to information, Darshan Hiranandani and Dubai Didi (MP Mahua Moitra) are in touch. An attempt is being made to influence the witness @loksabhaspeaker to take action,” Nishikant Dubey said in a post on X.
Union minister Anurag Thakur was also critical of Mahua for skipping the hearing of the ethics committee and asserted that denials and absence would not help her if she had committed irregularity.
“If the parliamentary committee has summoned someone, then they should go and make their point. Even if she does not accept her mistakes, then too, the truth cannot be hidden,” he said.
In the latest letter, the committee has said the request for any further extension for her appearance date will not be entertained. “Honorable chairman has directed the undersigned to convey to you that keeping in view the seriousness of the matter, having implications on the dignity of Parliament as well as its members, any further request for extension of date for appearing before the committee or re-scheduling the sitting of the committee for any reason whatsoever would not be entertained,” Bala Guru G, deputy secretary, Lok Sabha secretariat, has written in the letter sent to Mahua on Saturday.