The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha has summoned Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on October 31 for defending herself in face of the cash-for-query charges levelled against her by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.
At the committee’s meeting on Thursday, the Opposition MPs initially refused to allow Mr. Dubey, the complainant, as well as Jai Anant Dehadrai, advocate and Ms. Moitra’s former partner, to depose.
When Mr. Dehadrai walked into the meeting, the Opposition members vociferously protested, with BSP MP Danish Ali pointing to the “different standards” being applied by the Ethics Committee and the Privilege Committee, which is hearing his complaint against BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri.
In a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla last week, Mr. Ali pointed out that the Privilege Committee had first summoned defendant Mr. Bidhuri – who used communal slurs against Mr. Ali during a Lok Sabha debate – instead of him, the complainant, while the Ethics Committee chose to call the complainant first instead of the defendant.
Thursday’s deadlock between the Opposition and BJP MPs was broken through a vote, with Chairman and BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar casting the deciding vote. Five Opposition MPs voted against allowing Mr. Dubey and Mr. Dehadrai from presenting evidence, while six ruling party MPs voted in favour of it. In the 15-member committee, four members, including Congress MP Preneet Kaur, were absent at the meeting.
Help sought from Ministries
“We heard out both Mr. Dubey and Mr. Dehadrai who were summoned by the committee. Considering the gravity of the allegations, Ms. Moitra has now been called to present her defence on October 31,” Mr. Sonkar told reporters at the end of the meeting. He also said that the committee has sought assistance from both the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. He refused to divulge the information the panel has sought from the two Ministries.
The Opposition demanded that industrialist Darshan Hiranandani, who submitted an affidavit indicting Ms. Moitra, also be summoned before the panel. “We were told that Mr. Hiranandani is a UAE citizen and therefore we will have to consult the legal experts on whether he can be called for the meeting,” a senior Opposition leader said.
As per a complaint filed by Mr. Dubey and Mr. Dehadrai, the Trinamool Congress MP had shared her Lok Sabha log-in and password with industrialist Mr. Hiranandani to enable him to ask questions on her behalf in exchange of pecuniary benefits. Mr. Hiranandani, in the affidavit submitted to the Ethics Committee, turned approver.
The Opposition asked a raft of questions to the Chairman on why the committee is in such a hurry. “What was particularly problematic is the propaganda from BJP that preceded the meeting. While the corporate influence in parliamentary proceedings is dangerous for democracy and deplorable, there should not be a selective probe,” another member said.
Narada case
The Opposition particularly pointed to the Narada sting case, where Trinamool MPs, some of who are now with the BJP, were “caught red-handed taking bribes”. That case was referred to the Ethics Committee in 2016 but the probe got nowhere and no report was produced by the parliamentary panel. “Considering the Ethics Committee dragged its feet and never came up with a report in the Narada case clearly undermines its credibility,” a third member said.
The Opposition also questioned Mr. Dubey’s motive in filing the complaint and asked if it was guided by Ms. Moitra’s sustained campaign against him on his alleged “fake degree”.
To this, Mr. Dubey said: “The question of my degree has gone up to the Supreme Court level and the complaint has been dismissed at the top court. Just because someone on the road is now screaming about it does not make it the truth.”
