Who is Darshan Hiranandani, businessman caught in middle of BJP, TMC MPs political slugfest?

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday accused Trinamool Congress lawmaker Mahua Moitra of taking bribes from a businessman to ask questions in Parliament, triggering another political slugfest between the two adversaries.

Dubey wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Birla under the subject “Re-emergence of nasty 'Cash for Query' in Parliament, Direct involvement of Smt. Mahua Moitra, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) for serious 'Breach of Privilege', 'Contempt of the House' and a 'Criminal Offence' under Section 120-A of IPC”.

In his letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Dubey claimed that a lawyer has shared "irrefutable" evidence of bribes exchanged between the TMC MP and businessman Darshan Hiranandani, urging immediate suspension of Moitra from the House.

"There is not an iota of doubt about a criminal conspiracy hatched by Mahua Moitra to garner and protect the business interests of a businessman – Shri Darshan Hiranandani – by asking Parliamentary Questions, which is reminiscent of ‘Cash for Query’ episode of 12 December, 2005," the BJP MP said.

The Trinamool leader posted several posts on social media to hit back at the BJP leader, saying she “welcomes any move against her after the Lok Sabha Speaker is finished dealing with pending charges against him (Dubey)”.

“Am using all my ill gotten cash & gifts to buy a college/ university in which Degree Dubey can finally buy a real degree,” she said in a social media post on X.

The two MPs, known for their fiery parliamentary speeches and belligerent attacks on adversaries, have often exchanged blows over a host of issues over the years.

Who is Darshan Hiranandani?

At the centre of the allegations is Darshan Hiranandani, a prominent Indian businessman and CEO of the Hiranandani Group, a well-known real estate conglomerate in India. The Hiranandani Group, founded by his father Niranjan Hiranandani and uncle Surendra Hiranandani, is involved in various real estate and construction projects in India. They are known for their work in developing residential and commercial properties, including townships, IT parks, and other infrastructure projects.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Hiranandani completed his MBA and B.S. from Rochester Institute of Technology, New York.

“Darshan Hiranandani is credited with taking the group’s real estate business international and diversifying in emerging sectors such as datacenters, cloud computing, energy, and industrial warehousing & logistics. A composed individual with a focused vision, he envisions meeting the country’s infrastructure requirements and contributing to its economic growth,” it reads.

He has founded Tez Platforms, Yotta Infrastructure Solutions, and Greenbase - Industrial & Logistics Park, as per his LinkedIn profile.