At least four Opposition MPs on Thursday walked out of a Lok Sabha Ethics Committee meeting, accusing its chairman Vinod Sonkar of posing personal and “filthy questions” against Trinamool Congress (TMC) party parliamentarian Mahua Moitra, who is facing a cash-for-query probe.
After the ethics panel meeting got over, chairman Sonkar, a BJP MP, counter-charged that the boycott by the Opposition members was essentially to distract from allegations against Moitra accused of giving access of her official email id to a businessman who in turn used it to target Adani Group. In his interaction with media, he also took exception to what he stated that objectionable words used against him and the panel by Opposition members.
Moitra along with Danish Ali of BSP, Girdhar Yadav of Janata Dal United, and Congress’ N Uttam Kumar Reddy left the meeting in protest, and charged that Chairman was asking very personal questions to the TMC MP which they felt were irrelevant to the proceedings.
“We found the ethics committee chairperson’s questions to Moitra undignified and unethical,” Congress MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy alleged. Similarly, Danish Ali said Moitra was told to reveal whom does she meet and talk, and her contact details. Moitra herself charged that she was asked “filthy questions”.
Reddy also told reporters that, on the contrary, the panel has been silent on issues that they had raised two days ago, which is to show the rule on who is authorised to handle NIC emails. The TMC leader was summoned by the panel to give oral evidence on a complaint BJP MP Nishikant Dubey filed against Moitra, alleging her “direct involvement in cash for query in Parliament” that amounted to unethical conduct.
‘Moitra, rude and arrogant’
BJP member of panel, Aparajita Sarangi, however, came out in support of chairman Sonkar and said Moitra was angry, rude and arrogant when asked to respond to an affidavit submitted to the committee by businessman Darshan Hiranandani who was unethically using parliamentary email account to raise questions in parliament and in return gave gifts to her as well.
Moitra, in her deposition to the parliamentary ethics committee, pleaded innocence to accusations against her which she said was largely born out of motivated charges made by her former friend and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, sources said. During the proceedings, Opposition members came in her support of her while a few ruling party members requested her to stick to case and not deviate it to other issues.
Dubey, who also spoke to journalists, accused Moitra of spinning a wrong narrative about the proceedings and stressed that “no power can save Moitra after all evidences provided by me and others against her”.