A meeting of the Parliamentary Ethics Committee, called to hear Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra’s defense against the cash-for-query charges levelled against her by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, ended on a chaotic note on Thursday. The Trinamool MP and other Opposition leaders stormed out of the meeting, accusing panel chairman and BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar of asking “undignified” questions about Ms. Moitra’s personal life.
According to sources, the Opposition MPs were enraged by Mr. Sonkar’s repeated questions about Ms. Moitra’s relationship with industrialist Darshan Hiranandani. When Mr. Sonkar refused to accept the Opposition members’ suggestion to adjourn and reconvene the meeting at a later date, they demanded a vote. With five opposition MPs and five BJP MPs in attendance, the deciding vote to continue the meeting was cast by Mr. Sonkar.
