Mahua Moitra expelled from Lok Sabha over cash-for-query row; Opposition reacts after her expulsion

TMC MP Mahua Moitra was expelled from the Lower House on Friday during the ongoing winter session of Parliament following an Ethics Committee report into the 'cash for query' charges against her. TMC President Mamata Banerjee slammed the ruling BJP government and said they didn't allow Mahua to explain her stand. On the other hand, Congress leader Sonia Gandhi supported the TMC MP stand and urged the whole opposition to support her.

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has been expelled from the Lok Sabha House as she failed to qualify for the ethics test during the ongoing winter session of Parliament. She was expelled after the Ethics Panel's recommendation over the cash-for-query row. Speaker Om Birla said, "...This House accepts the conclusions of the Committee that MP Mahua Moitra's conduct was immoral and indecent as an MP. So, it is not appropriate for her to continue as an MP..."

The expelled TMC MP, Mahua Moitra was not allowed to speak during the discussion inside the House, the Trinamool leader read out her statement outside the Lok Sabha and said that the Ethics committee broke every rule.

Mahua said, "This Lok Sabha has also seen the weaponization of a Parliamentary Committee. Ironically, the ethics committee was set up to serve as a moral compass for members. Instead, it has been abused egregiously today to do exactly what it was never meant to do. Which is to bulldoze the opposition and become another weapon to 'Thok Do' us into submission".

"The findings are based solely on the written testimonies of two private citizens whose versions contradict each other in material terms none of whom I was allowed to cross-examine. One of the two private citizens is my estranged partner who with malified intention masqueraded as a common citizen in front of the committee. The two testimonies have been used to hang me, they are polar opposites to each other".

Reacting over the expulsion of Mahua Moitra from Lok Sabha, TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee said," Today, I am sad to see the attitude of the BJP party...How they betray democracy...They didn't allow Mahua to explain her stand. Full injustice has been done". "I am telling you that Mahua (Moitra) is a victim of the circumstances. I strongly condemn it...Our party will fight along with the INDIA alliance...It is unfortunate for the democracy."

"This is vendetta politics of BJP. They killed democracy....It is injustice. Mahua will win the battle. The people will give justice. They (BJP) will be defeated in the next election," says TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee.

On the other hand, the opposition staged a walkout after the Lok Sabha adopted the motion to expel the TMC MP. The House was then adjourned till December 11.

The Opposition INDIA bloc members threw questions on the lower house Ethics Panel recommendation for expelling TMC MP Mahua Moitra. The leaders also accused the Modi-led government of doing "vendetta politics".

Following this, the veteran Congress leader Sonia Gandhi urged to stand with Mohua Moitra in what she said. Meanwhile, the Lok Sabha panel report recommending the expulsion of Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Mahua Moitra was presented in the Lower House today. In the 'cash for query' row, Lok Sabha's Ethics Committee Chairman Vinod Sonkar tabled the panel's first report in the House on the TMC MP.

Earlier, when asked about the tabling of the report in the House, Mahua Moitra had said that now the people will see the battle of Mahabharata. Speaking to the media, Mahua said "Mother Durga has arrived, we will see. These people who have started snatching clothes will now see the battle of Mahabharata." She also read out a quote from famous poet and former Rajya Sabha Member, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar which said "Destruction befalls a person, conscience dies first," (Jab Naash Manuj par chaata hai, pehle Vivek mar jaata hai).

The ethics panel report was mentioned in the agenda of the list of business of Lok Sabha for the opening day of the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. However, it could not be taken up. The Ethics Committee, which investigated the allegations made by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, adopted its 500-page report on November 9 recommending Moitra's expulsion from the 17th Lok Sabha in view of her "highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal conduct."

The draft report was adopted by a 6:4 majority in the panel last month. As per the sources, the draft report on Mahua Moitra's cash-for-questions case reveals that she visited the UAE four times from 2019 to 2023 while her login was accessed several times. "On 47 occasions, her member portal login credentials were accessed from Dubai," sources said citing the draft report of the ethics committee.

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