“Parliamentary Ethics Inquiry: Mahua Moitra Faces Cash-for-Query Allegations”

The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha has summoned Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra to appear before it on October 31 regarding allegations of cash-for-query. This decision follows the committee’s examination of oral evidence from BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, both of whom accused Moitra of accepting bribes in exchange for asking questions that targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani.

Vinod Sonkar, the chairman of the panel, stated, “The two individuals who were summoned today – the lawyer and Nishikant Dubey – were heard attentively. Afterward, it was decided that Mahua Moitra would be called on October 31 to present her side. The committee has also decided to request information from the IT ministry and MHA regarding her details.”

Jai Anant Dehadrai, who Moitra had referred to as a “jilted ex,” was reportedly cross-examined by the panel.

The panel also inquired whether Nishikant Dubey’s accusations against Moitra were motivated by her accusation that he possessed a fake degree.

Sources indicate that the panel is treating the charges against Moitra with utmost seriousness.

Dubey submitted a written complaint to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, citing documents provided by Dehadrai. In this complaint, he alleged that Moitra had shared her login credentials for the Lok Sabha’s official website with businessman Darshan Hiranandani, enabling him to post questions in Parliament directly. Dubey claimed that Dehadrai had provided “irrefutable evidence of bribes exchanged” between Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani. Moitra dismissed these allegations as falsehoods from a disgruntled former associate and accused the Adani Group of targeting her to obstruct her questioning of the conglomerate. She also accused the BJP of conspiring to remove her from the Lok Sabha.

Hiranandani subsequently submitted an affidavit admitting that he had Moitra’s login credentials.

Before meeting with the Ethics Committee, Nishikant Dubey remarked, “I will respond to any questions they pose to me, and I will appear before the committee when summoned. Documents do not lie. Now the question is whether Mahua is a thief or not.”

In March, Moitra had accused Dubey, via a series of tweets, of falsely claiming to possess an “MBA from Delhi University” in his election affidavits for 2009 and 2014, without mentioning the MBA degree in his 2019 affidavit. She pointed out that, in his 2019 Lok Sabha affidavit, he only claimed to hold a PhD in Management from Pratap University Rajasthan in 2018, which raised questions about the validity of a PhD from a UGC-deemed university without a valid master’s degree. Moitra also addressed the controversy surrounding her website account being accessed from Dubai while she was in India, questioning the conflicting statements from various parties involved.