New Delhi:
Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in an alleged foreign exchange violation case, sources said Wednesday.
The agency wants to question Ms Moitra over transactions linked to a non-resident external, or NRE, account, as well as a few instances of foreign remittances and transfer of funds, sources said.
The agency’s summons – its third to the former Krishnanagar Lok Sabha MP – came days after the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a police case and raided her Kolkata home in the cash-for-query case that led to Ms Moitra’s hugely controversial expulsion from Parliament in December.
A parliamentary ethics panel found Ms Moitra’s conduct “immoral (and) indecent”.
She has been accused of taking Rs 2 crore in cash, as well as “luxury gift items”, from a businessman – Darshan Hiranandani – to ask questions critical of the government in Parliament. She was also accused of sharing log-in details to her confidential account on the parliament website.
Mr Hiranandani has also been summoned for questioning, sources told NDTV.
Ms Moitra has denied the bribery charges (but said she did share website credentials, arguing it is common practice among MPs). The Supreme Court will hear this case in May.
The Trinamool has re-nominated Ms Moitra to contest from the Krishnanagar seat she won in the 2019 election; she eased to victory five years ago, picking up nearly 45 per cent of the total votes.
She will contest Amrita Roy, the rajmata of a local royal family, whom the BJP hopes will have enough sway to win a seat that it has won only once since the seat first voted in 1967.
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