Mahua Moitra expelled: What happened in Lok Sabha, what does the ethics panel report say?

The Lok Sabha on Friday expelled Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra in a “cash-for-query” case. The development came after the motion to expel Moitra witnessed a heated discussion over the listing of the Ethics Committee report. The TMC leader, along with the Opposition leaders, protested outside the Parliament shortly after the motion was passed, denouncing it as a “unfair” decision. Here’s what unfolded in the Lok Sabha and what the report says on the matter. Stormy scenes in the Lok Sabha The report of the Ethics Committee was tabled in the Lok Sabha by chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar, triggering a row between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Opposition. The Opposition leaders argued that Moitra should be allowed to present her view on the matter. The calls for Moitra to speak on the matter were raised, citing the fundamental right to defend herself, by Trinamool MPs, beginning with Sudip Bandyopadhyay, as per NDTV. [caption id=“attachment_13482312” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The Lok Sabha on Friday expelled Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra after holding her guilty of sharing her credentials with others and accepting gifts from a businessman to extend favours. PTI[/caption] “What I propose - my party’s spokesperson will be Mahua Moitra herself because allegation is against her. Wild allegations have been raised. Whether true or wrong, let her speak…” he said. The lower house was adjourned till noon as the Opposition MPs sought more time to study the 495-page document, as per News18. However, all went in vain as the Lok Sabha took up the report for discussion once the session resumed and put forward the motion recommending the expulsion. The motion was passed and the TMC leader was expelled, leading to a walkout by the Opposition. The Ethics Committee report According to NDTV, TMC MP accepted gifts, like “luxury items” and a car, and such “serious misdemeanours… call for severe punishment”, the Ethics Committee said in its report about cash-for-query row. The report stated that “allegations of accepting illegal gratification (are) clearly established and are undeniable,” declaring, “taking gifts from (a) businessman to whom she handed over log-in (details) amounts to a quid pro quo… (which is) unbecoming of an MP and is unethical conduct.”

The parliamentary panel committee, therefore, added “recommend(s) that Mahua Moitra, MP, may be expelled from the membership of the Seventeenth Lok Sabha,” and further called for “a legal institutional inquiry by the Government… in view of unethical, heinous, and criminal conduct of Moitra…” Further action against Moitra has been referred to central investigative agencies with the technical expertise to probe the “money trail,” with the committee recommending a “time-bound” inquiry. The panel was quoted as saying, “… (we) wish to candidly point out that (we) do not have the technical wherewithal and expertise to criminally investigate and unearth the ‘money trail’, which is the task of the central government…" Moitra protests with Opposition MPs After the motion was passed, the TMC leader and the Opposition walked out of the parliament. Moitra, while reading out her statement outside the Lok Sabha which she came prepared with, reiterated that it was the conduct of “a kangaroo court,” and there was no evidence of cash. She said the committee has decided to “hang” her without getting to the root of the matter, according to News18. “…it (Lok Sabha ethics committee) refused to summon the businessman to testify that there is evidence of any cash or any gifts,” she said, adding, “The recommendation of expulsion was solely based on the complaint that I shared my login. But there is no rule whatsoever in this regard.” [caption id=“attachment_13482272” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] TMC leader Mahua Moitra addresses the media with Congress MP Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders after being expelled by the Lok Sabha during the Winter session of Parliament, in New Delhi. PTI[/caption] According to NDTV, the visibly furious TMC leader added, “The committee broke every rule… Tomorrow, the CBI will be sent to my home to harass me. The Lok Sabha has presided over the most tenacious witch-hunt of one of the 78 MPs, a first-timer, a single woman, with no political lineage… This Lok Sabha has also seen the weaponisation of a parliamentary committee.” “Ironically, the ethics committee which was set up to serve as a moral compass for members, instead has been abused today to do exactly what it was never meant to do - which is to bulldoze the Opposition and become another weapon to thok do us into submission. This committee and the report have broken every rule in the book," the news channel quoted her as saying. Responding to Moitra, Ethics Committee member Aparajita Sarangi told NDTV, “Her conduct was unethical. And she has been punished for the same by parliament. It’s not like she has been punished by a person or two. The matter went to the parliament standing committee; complainant and defendant were heard. She was given time to put her point forward. When she appeared before the committee, she was very angry and she said a lot of unparliamentary things, even against the committee chairman.” Former Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, who also walked out of the Lok Sabha, told media that the Opposition stands with what Moitra has said. West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool boss Mamata Banerjee accused the saffron party of having “planned” the expulsion of Moitra. However, she adding that “this will help her before the election.” For those unversed, the 2024 Lok Sabha election is just a few months away. What’s next for Moitra? A member who has been expelled can challenge the decision in the court of law. [caption id=“attachment_13479582” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Mahua Moitra walks out of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee meeting, at Parliament House complex in New Delhi on 2 November. File photo/PTI[/caption] “If there is some illegality or unconstitutionality about the way in which the Committee went about the whole exercise, if there was a total denial of natural justice, in that case she can challenge it — not otherwise,” wrote PDT Acharya, former secretary general of Lok Sabha, in The Indian Express. According to him, she could also bring up Article 20, which states that the punishment should be proportionate to the offence, and provide an argument. Deccan Herald quoted him as also saying there has been no rule framed by the Lok Sabha or provisions under the Information Technology (IT) Act, which prohibits the sharing of one’s password. Furthermore, if the corruption aspect is true, then the CBI can act on it under the Prevention of Corruption Act.