Mahua Moitra moves SC to her suspension from Lok Sabha over ‘cash-for-query’ allegations

New Delhi: Today, TMC leader Mahua Moitra has challenged the decision to cancel Lok Sabha membership in the Supreme Court. Mahua’s parliamentary membership was revoked following the recommendation of the ethics committee in the cash-for-query case.Mahua Moitra has expressed her displeasure over her expulsion from Parliament.

The notification came hours after Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha as the House adopted a report of its Ethics Committee that held her guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest. Mahua said that the Ethics Committee has no power to expel. This is the beginning of the end of your (BJP).

The notification read,“Consequent on the adoption of a Motion by the Lok Sabha on the 8th December, 2023 expelling Smt. Mahua Moitra, an elected member from the Krishnanagar Parliamentary Constituency of West Bengal from the membership of Lok Sabha, Smt. Mahua Moitra has ceased to be a member of Lok Sabha with effect from the 8th December, 2023 afternoon.”

Mahua Moitra, 49, was accused of taking bribes in lieu of asking questions in the House at the behest of business tycoon Darshan Hiranandani to target the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On this issue, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey sent a complaint to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against Moitra through lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai.

She was alleged to have given Hiranandani his ID and password to log-in to a confidential account on the parliamentary website so that he could post questions directly. However, Mahua Moitra admitted that she had given her Lok Sabha login ID to Hiranandani’s people, but she did not take any gift or money from Hiranandani. At the same time, she has been continuously calling the allegations leveled against her by the BJP MP as baseless.

After the allegations leveled against Mahua Moitra, a committee was formed to investigate the case. The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, headed by BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar, submitted its report earlier this month recommending Moitra’s expulsion.