Cash-for-query case: Mahua Moitra and Opposition MPs walkout of ethics committee meeting; say "personal", "unethical" questions asked New Delhi: A furious Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, who stormed out of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee meeting on Thursday amid the hearing on the cash for query charge against her, made a big allegation against the panel which, she said, asked her 'humiliating personal questions'.
Moitra is facing cash for query allegations by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who alleged that the Trinamool MP had taken bribes from Dubai-based businessman Hiranandani to raise questions in Parliament to target the Adani Group.
On Thursday, Mahua equated the incident with "proverbial vastraharan (stripping)" episode of epic Mahabharat, where Duryodhan ripped off Padavas' queen Draupadi's clothes in the royal assembly.
"I write to you in great anguish today to update you on the unethical, sordid, and prejudiced behaviour meted out to me at the hearing of the Ethics Committee by the Chairman. I have been subjected to the proverbial 'Vastraharan' by him in the presence of all members of the Committee," the TMC MP wrote in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
Earlier, Moitra appeared before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee over cash for query allegations against her on Thursday. She and opposition members of the panel 'walked out' of the meeting on Thursday afternoon.
Opposition members raised questions over the line of questioning and alleged that 'personal questions' were posed to the Trinamool Congress MP. Moitra in her letter also alleged that the Chairman, instead of asking questions pertinent to the subject, exhibited a preconceived bias by questioning her in a malicious and defamatory way.
"The committee ought to designate itself under a name other than the Ethics Committee as it has no ethics and morality left. Instead of asking questions pertinent to the subject, the Chairman exhibited a preconceived bias by maliciously and clearly in a defamatory way questioning me, so much so that 5 of the 11 members present walked out and boycotted the proceedings in protest at his shameful conduct," she said in the letter.
In her letter, the TMC MP also requested the Lok Sabha Secretariat to disclose the regulations governing the sharing of one's login and password of the portal to merely type out questions, adding that nothing could be submitted without an OTP.
"I request the Lok Sabha Secretariat to please disclose the regulations governing the sharing of one's login and password of the portal to merely type out questions (where nothing could be submitted without an OTP which came to my mobile phone)", she said.
"Why were these rules never given to MPs and if they were why is every single MP sharing this ID and login with numerous people? Where was this Ethics Committee's conscience when the government used the Israeli software Pegasus to spy on the judiciary, independent journalists, and members of the opposition members? Was this not a grievous breach of national security? Why did this Committee not meet even once since July 2021 in the face of so many instances of unethical conduct by members of the ruling party?" the TMC MP added.
She said that she repeatedly protested on record regarding the questions the chairman was welcome to ask but after more than two hours of irrelevant questioning, five members of the Committee boycotted the proceeding and walked out.
"On my part, I repeatedly protested on record that while the chairman was welcome to ask me any question relevant to the enquiry -- namely on the login and on those allegations of gifts for which evidence, or rather complete lack of it, existed -- he could not ask me detailed personal questions making insinuations about my dignity as a woman," she said.
"After more than two hours of this sort of questioning, which seemed to get worse with each question, five of the Committee members said they would not be a party to this 'Cheerharan (Disrobing of a woman)' and boycotted the proceedings and walked out. I too placed on record that while I respect the proceedings of the Committee, it was against my personal dignity and rights to be subjected to this filthy line of questioning by the Chairman who seemed to get vicarious enjoyment from his words, and excused myself from the proceedings," the TMC MP added.
"At the very onset I would like to state that the complainant has provided NO evidence of any cash, the alleged 'bribe-giver' Hiranandani has made NO mention of any cash in his suo-moto affidavit. In respect of gifts, I have already stated on record publicly and in the Committee that Hiranandani is a close friend from before I became an MP. The sum total of all the gifts I have received from him is one scarf, some items of make-up, use of a car and a driver when I have visited Bombay on maybe four to five occasions in the past 5 years and maybe twice in Dubai and a set of very basic architectural drawings/advice on making my government accommodation vastu compliant which were then executed by the engineers and contractors of the CPWD (a government unit) with no payment made by Hiranandani or anyone else apart from the CPWD," Mahua said in her letter.
She said that she had used secretarial help from Hiranandani's office in typing out my parliamentary questions for submission to the portal and notably this portal is not the same as the Lok Sabha email or password which she has not shared with anybody.
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