Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra’s parliamentary account was accessed several times from Dubai, reports claimed on Wednesday, a day before the lawmaker appears before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee over the cash-for-query allegations against her.
Nearly 47 log-ins to Moitra’s parliamentary account were made from Dubai, news agency PTI reported quoting sources privy to the matter.
Moitra has been in the middle of a political storm ever since BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused her of taking bribes from industrialist Darshan Hiranandani for asking questions in Lok Sabha targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business tycoon Gautam Adani.
Responding to the latest media reports, Dubey wrote on X: "If this news is true, then all the MPs of the country should stand against Mahua ji's corruption. Hiranandani asked questions in Lok Sabha for Hiranandani. Are we MPs for promoting selfish interests of capitalists?"
Moitra has admitted that she shared her parliamentary portal log-in details with Hiranandani, but dismissed allegations of any quid pro quo, saying the businessman has long been a close friend of her.
The Ethics Committee on Saturday asked Moitra to appear before it on November 2 while turning down her request for an extension till November 5.
The committee headed by BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar told Moitra that it would not entertain any further request for extension for any reason whatsoever "keeping in view the seriousness of the matter, having implications on the dignity of Parliament as well as its Members".
Dubey and Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai—who allegedly provided evidence against the TMC MP—had given their "oral evidence" to the panel against Moitra on October 26.
Earlier, in his letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Dubey had accused the TMC MP of compromising national interest by sharing her parliamentary portal log-in and password with an outsider. He accused Moitra of breach of parliamentary privilege and demanded her immediate suspension from the house.
Hiranandani, too, has admitted that the MP had shared with him her Lok Sabha login details so that he could directly post the questions.
In a signed affidavit submitted to the ethics panel, Hiranandani said Moitra had made frequent demands, including "expensive luxury items, providing support on renovation of her officially allotted bungalow in Delhi, travel expenses, holidays, etc, apart from providing secretarial and logistical help for her travels within India and to different parts of the world”.
Meanwhile, Moitra on Wednesday shared on social media a letter she had sent to the Ethics Committee, in which she has sought permission to 'cross-examine' Hiranandani and Dehadrai.
She also stated that parliamentary committees lack criminal jurisdiction and emphasised the importance of involving law enforcement agencies in such cases.
"There is also the question of whether the Ethics committee is the appropriate forum to examine alleged criminality. I wish to respectfully remind you that Parliamentary Committees do not have criminal jurisdiction and have no mandate to investigate alleged criminality. This check was specifically created by our nation's founders to prevent even the slightest misuse of Committees by the government enjoying a brute majority in Parliament," she said in her letter to the panel.
