More trouble for Moitra

ACCUSING Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra of ‘unethical conduct’ and ‘contempt of the House’, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee has recommended her expulsion from the House. The panel has adopted its draft report after conducting a probe into BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s allegations that Moitra took bribes from Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani to raise questions targeting the Adani Group in Parliament. The report says: ‘In view of the highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal conduct of Mahua Moitra, the committee recommends an intense, legal, institutional inquiry by the Government of India in a time-bound manner.’

Though Moitra has unapologetically admitted that she shared her parliamentary login details with Hiranandani, she has denied receiving pecuniary benefits for doing so. The MP’s very act of sharing her ID and password with an unauthorised person is unethical, irrespective of whether she got anything in cash or kind. The fact that Hiranandani had a vested interest in turning the parliamentary spotlight on the Adani Group’s operations makes Moitra’s position even more untenable.

One of the most vocal Opposition MPs in the current Lok Sabha, Moitra has never shied away from confronting the Modi government. However, the present controversy has done untold damage to her credibility. Her alleged quid pro quo with the businessman has divested her of the moral right to accuse the BJP-led Centre of corruption and cronyism. Her attempts to play the victim card have also come a cropper. Accusing ethics committee chief Vinod Kumar Sonkar of asking her ‘filthy and personal questions’ and stage a walkout along with the panel’s Opposition members was nothing but a diversionary ploy. The committee, on its part, erred by not summoning Hiranandani for questioning. With a high-level inquiry on the cards, Moitra’s troubles are set to mount. This is bad news not only for the Trinamool Congress but also for INDIA, the Opposition bloc, in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

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