Mahua Moitra Faces Expulsion from Parliament Following Cash-For-Query Controversy

Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra has been expelled from the Lok Sabha following an Ethics Committee report into the ‘cash for query’ charges against her. The report accused Ms Moitra of accepting bribes, including Rs 2 crore in cash and luxury gift items, from businessman Darshan Hiranandani, in exchange for asking questions critical of the Narendra Modi government in Parliament. Additionally, Ms Moitra was accused of sharing log-in credentials to a confidential account on the parliamentary website so Mr Hiranandani could post questions directly. Although she denied the bribery charges, she admitted to sharing the log-in details.

After a heated discussion and voice vote, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla announced that Ms Moitra’s conduct was immoral and indecent, leading to her expulsion from the House. The Ethics Committee presented its report, which consisted of nearly 500 pages, triggering a fierce debate between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition parties, including Trinamool Congress. Opposition MPs from the Congress and Trinamool demanded more time to study the report and argued for Ms Moitra to be allowed to speak. However, Speaker Om Birla refused permission, citing a similar controversy in 2005 where 10 MPs, including six from the BJP, lost the right to speak in the House after a report was tabled.

The report against Ms Moitra established the allegations of accepting illegal gratification and deemed her conduct unethical. It also recommended a criminal investigation to uncover the money trail. The Ethics Committee’s final recommendation was to expel Ms Moitra from the Seventeenth Lok Sabha and initiate a legal institutional inquiry into her unethical and criminal conduct.

In response to her expulsion, Trinamool boss and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of planning the expulsion as a move to benefit Ms Moitra before the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Please note that the provided image link is not accessible, so it cannot be included in the rewritten article.