THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, Nov 9: In its draft report, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee charged Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra of engaging in “unethical conduct” and disclosing her ID login credentials to unauthorized individuals, sources stated on Thursday.
The sources say that dissenting remarks on the draft have been sent by opposition MPs.
“One common ground for all the opposition MPs to submit a dissent note is that the enquiry is not fair. They have said that Darshan Hiranandani should have been summoned by the committee to ensure a free and fair enquiry in all respects,” the sources said.
Regarding the ‘Cash for Query’ accusations leveled by Nishikant Dubey against Mahua Moitra, Dubey claimed that the Trinamool MP had received payments from a Dubai-based businessman named Hiranandani in exchange for posing questions in Parliament with the aim of targeting the Adani Group.
The draft report on Mahua Moitra’s cash-for-questions case, according to the sources, shows that she traveled to the United Arab Emirates four times between 2019 and 2023, during which time her login was accessed multiple times.
The ethics committee’s draft report states that “her member portal login credentials were accessed from Dubai on 47 occasions.”
The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Information Technology (IT) have been contacted by the Ethics Committee for detailed data pertaining to IP address and location.
The committee additionally seeks input from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) regarding the risks associated with sharing login credentials and underscores the legal repercussions as defined in Section IT ACT 2000.
Nevertheless, the draft report has put forward various findings, including, “The serious misdemeanours on the part of Mahua Moitra calls for severe punishment. The Committee, therefore, recommend that Mahua Moitra, MP may be expelled from the Membership of the Seventeenth Lok Sabha.”
“In view of the highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal conduct of Mahua Moitra, the Committee recommend for an intense, legal, institutional inquiry by the Government of India in a time-bound manner,” it added.
The draft report additionally stated, “Unethical Conduct’ and ‘Contempt of the House’ by Mahua Moitra by way of accepting money – cash and kind, amenities and various other facilities by Mahua Moitra, MP from Darshan Hiranandani, Business Tycoon, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.”
“The ‘money trail’ of cash transaction between Mahua Moitra and Darshan Hiranandani as a part of ‘quid pro quo’ should be,” it added.
The comprehensive draft report is almost 500 pages long.
