New Delhi: A Lok Sabha Ethics Committee adopted a draft report seeking removal of TMC MP Mahua Moitra in connection with a 'cash-for-query' probe against her. Sources said the committee's draft resolution recommending disqualification of Moitra is possibly the first such action against a Parliamentarian by it.
The Committee, chaired by BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar, met Thursday (November 9, 2023) to adopt a 479-page report on its probe into the 'cash-for-query' allegations. Six of the 10 members present voted in support of the the report while four opposition MPs recorded their disapproval.
The recommendation of expulsion from the House against Moitra came in a complaint against her for accepting "illegal gratifications" from a businessman to raise questions in Parliament at his behest.
Sources said the committee recommended Moitra's expulsion from the Lok Sabha for "unethical conduct" and "contempt of the House".
What happens next? It capped weeks of intense political bickering and high drama parallel to its proceedings, and will not be implemented until it is put to vote in Parliament.
According to former secretary general of the Lok Sabha PDT Achary, this is perhaps the first time the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee has recommended an MP's expulsion, PTI reported.
The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee report will now be sent to the Lower House Speaker. He may order that the report be published.
When the Parliament meets for the winter session early next month, the committee chairman will table the report in the House. A debate will follow on the report and the Lok Sabha which will then vote on a government motion to put the recommendation into action.
Committee cites national security threat- The Committee cited the national threats the country faced from state and non-state cyber actors to indict Moitra for sharing her log-in credentials with businessman Darshan Hiranandani.
The businessman has residency rights in Dubai and has close relatives who are foreign nationals, the Committee said.
"This creates a serious risk of leakage of sensitive material to foreign agencies," the panel said.
Accessed Lok Sabha portal 47 times from UAE- The report submitted by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to the Ethics Panel revealed that her Lok Sabha member dashboard was accessed 47 times from the UAE between July 2019 and April 2023.
Leak of member credentials could render the system vulnerable to serious cyber-attacks and potentially disable the system entirely, crippling the functioning of India's Parliament, the panel said in its report.
Such users, according to a source, would be able to plant material into the system that could impact national security by creating false documents or fake narratives.
Bills of concern- The panel said the Lok Sabha portal hosts many documents, including draft bills circulated in advance to lawmakers, that are not available in public domain. It noted that 20 bills, including on banning the practice of triple talaq and insolvency code, were uploaded in advance in the said period of usage.
The report also pointed out inimical elements which are detrimental to the national security could exploit certain sensitive bills such as The Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Bill, 2019, which was circulated in advance. The possibility of leak of such sensitive material could be exploited, according to the draft report.
"Illegal gratifications" established- The report, with its majority view, said the allegations that she accepted "illegal gratifications" from Hiranandani have been clearly established. The report cited that it used her own depositino and her remarks to the media to establish the same.
"Criminal investigation is left to the government"- The panel while poring over the allegations that she also accepted cash from the businessman, acknowledged that it does not have any technical wherewithal and expertise to criminally investigate and unearth the money trail.
This is invariably the task of central government institutions, the panel said, recommending that any "quid pro quo" could be investigated by the government in a time-bound manner.
What Moitra said? In her first reaction after the panel's recommendation, Moitra told PTI this was a "pre-fixed match by a kangaroo court" and added, "Even if they expel me, I will be back in the next Lok Sabha with a bigger mandate."
"This is a pre-fixed match by a kangaroo court, which is of no surprise or consequence. But the larger message for the country is that for India, it is death of parliamentary democracy," she said.
Earlier, Moitra in her comments before the committee and outside has rejected any quid-pro-quo while justifying the use of her log-in credentials by Hiranandani. Moitra has insisted that many MPs share their log-in credential with others and stood ground that she never asked any question in Lok Sabha at the businessman's behest, as alleged by the BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.
The committee proceedings is based on a complaint lodged by BJP MP Nishikant who submitted it to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against Moitra, accusing her of asking questions in Lok Sabha to target the Adani Group at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for gifts.
The vote- When the ethics panel met Thursday, opposition members wanted to voice their dissent but Sonkar did not allow it, asserting that the sole agenda item of the report adoption. He also put it to vote.
Later, Sonkar told the media that six members of the panel supported adoption of the report and four opposed it. He also indicated that Congress MP Preneet Kaur supported the report. She decided to protect the prestige of Parliament, the panel chief said. Kaur is the wife of former Punjab CM Amarinder Singh who is now with the BJP. Kaur has been suspended from the Congress earlier this year.
Opposition view- Four opposition members who voted against the report maintained that the panel's recommendation was "prejudiced" and "incorrect". They were of the opinion that Hiranandani, who is alleged to have given bribes to Moitra, should have been asked to depose before the panel. "He has only filed an affidavit," they said.
CPI(M) MP PR Natarajan questioned the committee's authority to recommend a member's expulsion, while Congress' V Vaithilingam suggested that the panel should have examined Hiranandai. The businessman, in his sworn affidavit, claimed that he gave bribes and gifts to Moitra to ask questions in the Lok Sabha at his behest.
A panel member and BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi termed the opposition claims as baseless. "These are baseless claims. Darshan Hiranandani has given a sworn affidavit, which is sufficient." Rejecting opposition members' claim that Moitra's submission is not yet complete, she asserted that the TMC MP was given ample time by the panel to present her side of the story.
The fast-track probe- The panel's first meeting was held on Oct. 26 when Dubey and his lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai submitted their evidence against Moitra, who deposed before the committee on Nov. 2. High-drama unfolded when Moitra deposed as opposition members stormed out of the meeting, accusing the panel chief of posing indecent questions to the TMC MP.
Past cash-for-query scam- In 2005, eleven MPs - including one from Rajya Sabha, were expelled from Parliament in a 'cash-for-query' scam. There were six BJP MPs who were caught in a sting operation accepting to ask questions for cash. Besides BJP MPs, three were from BSP, one each from RJD and the Congress.
Those expulsions were recommended by the Rajya Sabha Ethics Committee and a Lok Sabha Inquiry Committee.
The proceedings of the 2005 'cash-for-query' case was also a fast-track one with the matter coming to light on Dec.12, 2005 and leading to the expulsion of the members on Dec. 23, 2005, during that year's winter session.
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