Mahua Moitra expelled from Lok Sabha due to allegations in cash-for-query case

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra was on Friday expelled from the Lok Sabha after allegations that she took bribes in exchange for asking questions in Parliament, PTI reported.

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi moved a motion to expel Moitra based on a recommendation by the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee, which found her guilty of having shared her credentials to the Parliamentary website with others and accepting gifts in exchange for favours. The motion was passed by a voice vote.

“This House accepts the conclusions of the committee that Mahua Moitra’s conduct was immoral and indecent as an MP,” Speaker Om Birla said. “So, it is not appropriate for her to continue as an MP.”

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, reportedly Moitra’s estranged partner, have accused the Trinamool Congress MP of taking bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to ask questions in Parliament.

The ethics panel had adopted its report recommending Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha at a meeting on November 9. The committee had called Moitra’s actions “highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal”.

Six panel members, including Congress MP Preneet Kaur, supported the report while four Opposition leaders submitted their dissent notes against it.

On Friday, Birla did not allow Moitra to speak inside Parliament even as...

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