‘Cash-for-query’ charges: Ethics panel adopts report for Moitra’s expulsion, Oppn submits dissent notes

The report was adopted after voting with six MPs – 5 of the ruling NDA and Preneet Kaur of the Congress, wife of former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh who is now with the BJP – in its favour, and four from the Opposition against it.

The Opposition MPs – BSP’s Danish Ali, Congress’s V Vaithilingam, CPM’s P R Natarajan and JD(U)’s Giridhari Yadav – submitted dissent notes, disagreeing with the decision.

After the meeting, committee chairman Vinod Sonkar said, “The Ethics Committee had prepared a report on the allegations against Mahua Moitra. The single agenda of the meeting was to adopt that report. That report was adopted. Six MPs supported the report and four people have submitted their dissent notes. There was voting. We will send a detailed report along with the recommendations to the Lok Sabha Speaker. Whatever action is to be taken now will be taken by the Speaker.”

In a phone interview with PTI, Moitra said, “Even if they expel me in this Lok Sabha, I will be back in the next Lok Sabha with a bigger mandate.”

“This is a pre-fixed match by a kangaroo court, which is of no surprise or consequence. But the larger message for the country is that for India, it is the death of Parliamentary democracy,” she said.

Moitra is accused of sharing her Parliament login and password with businessman Darshan Hiranandani so that he could “post the questions” directly “on her behalf when required”.

In an interview to The Indian Express, Moitra had admitted that she gave her Parliament login and password details to Hiranandani but denied taking any cash from him, as alleged by lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai in his complaint to the CBI.

The committee report said the Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology, in its report, had stated that the member portal of Moitra had been “operated 47 times” from the UAE between July 2019 and April 2023.

It is learnt that the Home Ministry had shared a note saying that the adverse effects of Moitra sharing her Lok Sabha credentials – user ID and password of the Lok Sabha portal for an MP – with Hiranandani could “result in leakage of sensitive or classified information.”

“Transfer of login credentials to unauthorized elements could provide an opportunity to such elements to access the system leading to several potential hazards. First, given the threats that the country is facing from State and non-State cyber actors, such leakage of credentials could render the system vulnerable to serious cyber attacks and potentially disable the system entirely, thereby crippling the functioning of the Parliament of India. Second, such elements could plant material into the system that could impact National Security by creating false documents or fake narratives, etc,” the report said.

As regards Moitra “taking cash” from Hiranandani as a “sequel to quid pro quo”, the committee report said it does not have the technical wherewithal and expertise to criminally investigate and unearth the money trial and recommended that it be investigated by the government “in a legal, institutional and time-bound manner.”

Travel details of Moitra since February 2019 have also been given to the panel. It said Moitra travelled to the UAE four times during this duration – in November 2021, April and November 2022, and August 2023.

It is learnt that while appearing before the ethics panel on October 26, Dehadrai stated that he decided to give evidence to the Parliamentary panel because of his concern on the issues of national security and corruption. He alleged there was a conspiracy between Moitra and Hiranandani in which Moitra would post the questions sent by his businessman friend for which he would give her money and gifts.

He is learnt to have stressed on the fact that Moitra’s objective was to link the Adani Group with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.

Dehradai also suggested that Hiranandani could be investigated to get specific information on the dates and time when Moitra had conveyed the information to him.

In her responses to questions from panel members, Moitra is learnt to have pointed out that Hiranandani has not mentioned any cash.

She is learnt to have maintained that she had not done anything unethical but sought protection from the committee for the media circus that was going on with her dignity.

On November 2, after she walked out of the panel meeting, Moitra released a letter she wrote to Speaker Om Birla, alleging that she was subjected to the “proverbial vastraharan” (disrobing) by Sonkar in the presence of all members of the committee.

She said the chairman “insisted on following the most sordid line of questioning… in which he asked me detailed and extremely personal questions about my life.”

Sonkar told The Indian Express the questions that he asked were related to allegations against her. “The objective of this committee is to investigate the charges of unethical behaviour levelled against the MP. But she persistently tried to avoid answering the questions. She did not cooperate. Then she got angry and walked out, accusing the chairman and the committee of using unparliamentary language,” he said.

He said “all questions were regarding the charges made against her by Hiranandani and the allegations made against her by the complainant.”