Shruti Suman
A parliamentary panel has deemed the Mahua Moitra case as “serious” and has called her to appear before it on Tuesday. Mahua Moitra, a Trinamool Congress MP, has been summoned by the Lok Sabha ethics committee to address the “cash for query” controversy on October 31. During a nearly three-hour-long session today, the committee heard statements from both BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, thoroughly discussing the allegations they raised against Ms. Moitra.
Vinod Sonkar, the chairman of the ethics committee, informed reporters that they have sent letters to the Information Technology Ministry and the Home Ministry to request further details related to the case for a more in-depth investigation.
Mr. Dehadrai, whose complaint to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated the entire case, was questioned by the ethics committee, while Mr. Dubey was given the opportunity to explain his allegations. Mr. Dubey had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing Ms. Moitra of involvement in a “cash-for-query” scheme, with the letter containing claims of providing “irrefutable evidence” that businessman Darshan Hiranandani bribed Ms. Moitra to ask questions in parliament, which were allegedly aimed at targeting the Adani Group.
The ethics committee intends to submit a report to the Lok Sabha Speaker at the earliest opportunity, as individuals with direct knowledge of the matter informed NDTV. This reference is made to the Pawan Bansal committee, which delivered its report in just two weeks in December 2005 during the infamous cash-for-questions scandal when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power at the center.
