New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) lawmaker Mahua Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha after a motion for her expulsion was passed by the lower House of the Indian Parliament on Friday.
The motion was initiated by the Modi government following the adoption of a report by the Ethics Committee, recommending Moitra's expulsion ‘for sharing her login credentials and password with an unauthorized person, posing a threat to national security, and engaging in unethical conduct and contempt of the House.’
Moitra, a first-term Member of Parliament, strongly contested her expulsion, likening it to being subjected to a "kangaroo court" and accusing the government of weaponizing the parliamentary panel to stifle opposition dissent.
Minutes after her expulsion as a Lok Sabha member, Moitra said she has been found guilty of breaching a code of ethics that does not exist and that there was no evidence of cash or gift given to her.
The Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha had recommended her expulsion in the "cash-for-query" case.
The report was tabled in the House Friday noon. Later the government moved a motion seeking her expulsion from the House, saying her continuation as an MP has become "untenable".
She said one of the two complainants was her estranged partner with a mala fide intention. She said he masqueraded as a common citizen before the ethics pane
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused her of accepting bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to pose questions in Parliament.
The Ethics Committee initiated a probe after Dubey wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging bribery and impropriety against Moitra.
The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee adopted a report last month by a 6-4 majority, accusing Moitra of sharing her login credentials and password with an unauthorized person, compromising national security. The report alleged that Moitra accepted a combination of “money — cash and kind, amenities, and various other facilities” from Hiranandani, with whom she shared login details.
It further alleged that 50 out of 61 questions posed by Moitra in Parliament were aimed at protecting or promoting Hiranandani's business interests. The panel asserted that Moitra's actions amounted to unethical conduct, breaching the privileges available to Members of Parliament, and constituted contempt of the House.
The Ethics Committee urged the Centre to conduct an "intense, legal, institutional inquiry" promptly in light of what they deemed as “highly objectionable, unethical, heinous, and criminal conduct of Mahua Moitra.”’
Acknowledging a lack of technical expertise within the committee to investigate the alleged money trail, a government investigation was recommended to delve into the matter further. Moitra dismissed the bribery charges as baseless, characterizing them as lies orchestrated by a "jilted ex," referring to Dehadrai.
She also dismissed the committee's conclusions as a result of a pre-fixed match by a “kangaroo court.” Moitra alleged that she faced humiliating questions during the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee's hearing and accused the Chairman of reading out a pre-written script containing "disgusting, invasive, private details" unrelated to the proceedings.