'Will Keep Fighting BJP': Mahua Moitra Expelled From LS in Cash-for-Query Case

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Following a heated debate on the 'cash-for-query case' against Mahua Moitra, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP was expelled from the Lok Sabha by Speaker Om Birla on Friday, 8 December.

The expulsion came after the tabling of a report by the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee that recommended Moitra's expulsion to Speaker Birla. The motion to expel her was moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi.

The report was tabled in the Lok Sabha by BJP MP and Ethics Committee Chairperson Vinod Sonkar. Opposition MPs staged a walkout in the Lower House as the motion to expel Moitra was adopted through a voice vote.

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What Moitra Said After Being Expelled

Following the expulsion, Moitra addressed the media amid presence of several INDIA alliance leaders including Sonia Gandhi, saying that she will keep fighting against the BJP for years to come and will 'keep raising issues against the Adanis.'

"The recommendation of expulsion is based solely on the grounds that I've shared my Lok Sabha portal ID and password. There are no rules whatsoever to govern the sharing of logins as the hearing of the ethics committee demonstrates," Moitra said as she addressed the media after the decision.

"What is important is that if this Modi government thought that by shutting me up, they are going to do away with the Adani issue (businessman Gautam Adani), let me tell you this – this kangaroo court has only shown to the all of India that the haste and the abuse of due process you have used demonstrates how important Mr Adani is to you to harass a single woman MP into shutting her into submission," she added.

"I am sure the CBI will be sent to my house. I'm sure they will harass me for the next six months," Moitra said.

Stressing that the vendetta against her is to only protect billionaire businessman Adani, Moitra questioned why BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri has not been expelled despite his alleged hate speech in Parliament against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Danish Ali.

"I'm 49 years old. I will fight you for the next 30 years inside Parliament, outside parliament, in the gutter, on the streets," she said. Speaking to the media earlier, Moitra had drawn parallels of the issue with Mahabharata.

Referring to herself as Goddess Durga, she said: "When the end is near, it is the intellect that withers first. They have started vastraharana and now you will watch the battlefield of Mahabharata," she said.

Moitra Denied Permission To Speak

While TMC members in the House earlier urged Speaker Om Birla to allow Moitra to speak, BJP MPs, including Joshi, said that granting permission would be "inethical" given the precedent set by such cases in the past.

Denying the permission, Birla said: "I have a copy of the traditions that were followed in tghe past. Former Speakers Somnath Chatterjee and Pranab Mukherjee were here as well. The rules and traditions that they have laid down are considered the rules of the House. Somnath Chatterjee had said that the Members against whom there are accusations are given ample time to speak before the Committee."

'Undemocratic': Mamata, Opposition Leaders React to Expulsion

"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," West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was quoted as saying by ANI.

"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," Banerjee said, adding that Moitra was not allowed to present her stand.

"Has it (the probe) actually been fairly conducted? We don't know. Because this Government hasn't been really fair when it comes to women...We have asked for a hard copy of the report. Our leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay has asked for it. After studying the report, we can come to a conclusion and when the discussion happens," TMC MP Nusrat Jahan told news agency ANI.

While Congress leaders came out in Moitra's support, BJP leaders said that there cannot be a compromise on 'national security.'

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram questioned the recommendation of a probe by the government.

"So the committee came to a conclusion that she is criminal but in the next line, the committee recommends for an intense legal institutional inquiry by the Government of India in a time bound manner. After finding somebody a criminal, why are you asking for an inquiry? This recommendation itself is completely contradictory...the person who drafted it has to read it again," he told ANI.

Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury labelled the move a "sentiment of revenge."

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that proper procedure has not been followed in the matter.

"It seems to have been adopted in two and a half minutes, according to one of the members. There has been no proper procedure followed, no attempt to cross-examine those who have made accusations and at the same time the conclusion of such a major punishment as expulsion of a Member. To arrive at that without serious consideration is truly disgraceful. Opposition, all the INDIA Alliance parties are completely convinced that this is a travesty of justice," he told ANI, adding that the Parliament being reduced to political vendetta is "disgraceful."

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Josh said: "When 10 MPs were expelled in 20225, they were also expelled the same day."

BJP MP Locket Chatterjee said that the issue is not about a particular party.

"When it comes to national security, it is not about a party. There should be no politics over this...Action should be taken against someone who put questions over national security," she said, adding that a decision on the matter should be taken at the earliest.

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What Is the 'Cash-for-Query' Case?

The committee is investigating allegations levelled by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey that Moitra accepted bribes and favours for asking questions in the Lok Sabha from businessman Darshan Hiranandani, who claimed that Moitra had given him access to her Parliament ID and password to post questions on her behalf.

Moitra had rejected the allegations during her questioning by the commitee. The complainant in the matter was registered by advocate Jai Dehadrai, who is reported to be a former friend of Moitra's.

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Cash-for-Query Row: How Serious Are the Charges Against Mahua Moitra? What Next?