Mahua Moitra expelled from Lok Sabha: All you need to know about charges against TMC leader

Trinamool Congress lawmaker Mahua Moitra, a first-term member of Parliament, was disqualified from Lok Sabha after a motion for her expulsion was passed by the House on Friday. The government moved the motion following the adoption of a report by the Ethics Committee recommending her expulsion for sharing her login credentials and password with an unauthorised person, its impact on national security, and finding that it amounted to unethical conduct and contempt of the House.

Charges and findings against Mahua Moitra:

1. Mahua Moitra found herself amidst a political storm when BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused her of accepting bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to pose questions in Parliament.
2. The Ethics Committee initiated a probe after Dubey wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging bribery and impropriety against Moitra.
3. Dubey claimed that Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai provided "irrefutable evidence of bribes exchanged" between Moitra and Hiranandani.
4. Hiranandani in a signed affidavit said that Moitra targeted Gautam Adani intending to "malign and embarrass" Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose unblemished reputation left little room for opposition attacks.
5. The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee adopted a report last month by a 6-4 majority, accusing Moitra of sharing her login credentials and password with an unauthorized person, compromising national security.
6. The report alleged that Moitra accepted a combination of “money — cash and kind, amenities, and various other facilities” from Hiranandani, with whom she shared login details.
7. It further alleged that 50 out of 61 questions posed by Moitra in Parliament were aimed at protecting or promoting Hiranandani's business interests.
8. The panel asserted that Moitra's actions amounted to unethical conduct, breaching the privileges available to Members of Parliament, and constituted contempt of the House.
9. The Ethics Committee urged the Centre to conduct an "intense, legal, institutional inquiry" promptly in light of what they deemed as “highly objectionable, unethical, heinous, and criminal conduct of Mahua Moitra.”
10. Acknowledging a lack of technical expertise within the committee to investigate the alleged money trail, a government investigation was recommended to delve into the matter further.

Moitra dismissed the bribery charges as baseless, characterizing them as lies orchestrated by a "jilted ex," referring to Dehadrai. She also dismissed the committee's conclusions as a result of a pre-fixed match by a “kangaroo court.” Moitra alleged that she faced humiliating questions during the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee's hearing and accused the Chairman of reading out a pre-written script containing "disgusting, invasive, private details" unrelated to the proceedings.