The report of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee recommending the expulsion of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in a ‘cash-for-query’ case will be tabled in the Lower House of Parliament on December 4.
According to the agenda papers circulated by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Ethics Committee chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar will lay on the table of the House the panel’s first report, PTI reported.
The committee, at a meeting on November 9, adopted its report recommending Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha over the ‘cash-for-query’ allegation.
Six members of the panel voted in favour of the report, including Congress MP Preneet Kaur who had earlier been suspended from the party. Four members of the panel belonging to Opposition parties submitted dissent notes.
The Opposition members termed the report a “fixed match” and said the complaint filed by BJP Lok Sabha member Nishikant Dubey, which the panel reviewed, was not supported by a “shred of evidence”.
Moitra can be expelled only if the House votes in favour of the panel’s recommendation.
The Winter Session of Parliament begins on Monday and is scheduled to continue till December 22.
‘Cash for query’:
Earlier, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against Moitra, accusing her of asking questions in Lok Sabha to target the Adani Group at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani, in exchange for gifts.
Dubey has also claimed that lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai provided him with proof of the alleged bribes.
Nishikant Dubey, an elected representative of Jharkhand state's Godda constituency, has demanded that Moitra be suspended, citing a 2005 precedent when 11 Members of Parliament were disqualified over "cash for query" accusations.
While Moitra herself admitted that she shared her parliamentary login details, she asserted that most MPs share their login credentials with others.
Besides, the businessman in question — Darshan Hiranandani — admitted gifting Moitra "expensive luxury items", as well as payments for the "renovation of her official bungalow". He also accepted posting "questions directly on her behalf" using the Parliament login and password that Moitra provided him.
