Why has TMC’s Mahua Moitra accused ethics panel chief of ‘proverbial vastraharan’?

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing the chairperson of the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha of subjecting her to “proverbial vastraharan" (stripping). She alleged he has “no ethics or morality left” and accused him of “pre-conceived bias” and “shameful” conduct. Her comments come hours after she and other Opposition legislators stormed out of a meeting of the ethics panel after the TMC leader was allegedly asked “filthy” questions. Moitra had appeared before the panel earlier in the day to give oral evidence in the alleged cash-for-query matter. The Opposition members on the panel alleged “personal and unethical questions” were posed to the TMC MP, reported NDTV. Walking out of the meet, Moitra told reporters, “What kind of meeting was this? They are asking all kinds of filthy questions. They are picking on anything. Talking any rubbish.”

What was Mahua Moitra asked about? What have the Opposition MPs said? How has the Ethics Committee responded? Let’s take a closer look. Questions before Mahua Moitra As per media reports, Moitra was asked about her travel to Dubai, which hotels she stayed in, and about her meetings there. She was also questioned about her ties to businessman Darshan Hiranandani, whom she previously admitted to having shared her Parliament login and password details with. Sources told NDTV that the ethics panel asked the TMC MP: “How many times did you contact Hiranandani in 2023?” BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla alleging that she accepted “bribes” from the businessman to ask questions in Parliament targeting the Adani Group. Moitra has denied taking any cash from Darshan Hiranandani, whom she has called her “close friend”. Earlier in the day, Moitra said the allegations against her were motivated by a “sour personal relationship”, referring to her ex-partner and Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehradai, reported NDTV. The advocate, who has accused Moitra of taking “bribes” to ask questions in Parliament in his complaint to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), has already appeared before the Ethics Committee. What have Opposition MPs said? According to an Indian Express report, the Opposition members were of the view that the Ethics Committee chairman and BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar posed “very personal questions” to Moitra. These MPs also repeatedly told the chairman that the questions were “undignified and demeaning to the lady MP”, asking him not to continue such a line of questioning. Eventually, Moitra and other Opposition MPs including Congress’s Uttam Kumar Reddy and V Vaithilingam, BSP’s Danish Ali, Giridhari Yadav of Janata Dal (United) and CPM’s PR Natarajan walked out of the meeting, the report added.

BSP’s Danish Ali can be heard telling reporters while storming out of the meeting that the panel asked the TMC MP about who she conversed with “at night” and what she talked about. Congress’ Reddy called Sonkar’s questions to Moitra “undignified and unethical”. “It seems that he’s (Parliament Ethics Committee Chairman) acting at the behest of someone else. It is very, very bad. For two days we have been asking him some things…They are asking her (Mahua Moitra) where are you travelling? Where are you meeting? Can you give us your phone records?… There is no evidence of any cash transfer,” he was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times (HT). JD(U) MP Giridhari Yadav said the Opposition members walked out as the panel asked “personal questions” to Moitra, saying it had no “right” to do so. Ethics panel, Nishikant Dubey hit back Ethics Committee chairperson Vinod Sonkar claimed Moitra used “unparliamentary” words for him and accused her of not cooperating during her cross-examination in the cash-for-query allegations. “Mahua Moitra did not cooperate with the committee and the investigation. The Opposition members also made allegations in anger and suddenly walked out of the meeting to avoid answering more questions,” the BJP MP said, as per NDTV.

Aparajita Sarangi, BJP MP from Bhubaneswar and a member on the panel, said the proceedings were “confidential” but Moitra and Opposition MPs came out and shared what “transpired within the committee”, which was “wrong”. “The conduct of Mahua Moitra was condemnable. She used unparliamentary words for our chairman and all the members of the committee. So, the chairperson of the committee was asking questions regarding the contents of the affidavit by Hiranandani and she did not want to answer them. And then they created a ruckus,” the BJP MP was quoted as saying by HT.

Speaking to the media, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused Moitra of creating a “misleading narrative” in the public. Questioning her for sharing her Parliament login details, he said this is a “matter of national security”. With inputs from agencies