“Will Be Back With Bigger Mandate”: Mahua Moitra After Ethics Panel Vote

New Delhi:

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, whose expulsion from parliament was formally agreed upon by the Ethics Committee today, called it a “pre-fixed match by a kangaroo court”. “Even if they expel me, I will be back in the next Lok Sabha with bigger mandate,” the MP, who is currently in her constituency in Bengal, was quoted as saying by news agency Press Trust of India.

“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 death of parliamentary democracy,” Ms Moitra said.

Disputing the legitimacy of the Ethics Committee’s mandate to recommend expulsion, Moitra criticised the BJP, saying, “I am happy that the BJP has shown to the entire country the mockery they have made of parliamentary democracy.”

Asked about her future course of action, Ms Moitra said, “First, let them expel me”.

The Ethics Committee, which is looking into the cash-for-query allegations against the MP, formally approved the recommendation of her expulsion from parliament after a voting today. Six members had voted in favour of the recommendation and four had voted against it, sources have said.

The recommendations will be submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla tomorrow.

The committee had suggested cancelling Ms Moitra’s Lok Sabha membership, finding her actions “highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal”. Among those who voted in its favour is suspended Congress MP Preneet Kaur, sources said.

The Ethics Committee has cited threats India faces from state and non-state actors online to indict Ms Moitra for sharing her log-in credentials with businessman Darshan Hiranandani, noting that he has residency rights in Dubai and has close relatives who are foreign nationals.

“This creates a serious risk of leakage of sensitive material to foreign agencies,” the panel has said, citing the report submitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to record that her portal was operated 47 times from the UAE between July 2019 and April 2023, PTI reported, quoting sources.

(With PTI)