New Delhi [India] : Amid the controversy around the ‘cash for query’ scam and the recommendation for expulsion by the Lok Sabha Ethics Panel, BJP leader Tarun Chugh on Friday came down heavily on Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, accusing her of compromising the country’s security interests for “personal benefits”.
The BJP leader said, “She played with the country’s data security system and insulted the Parliament, which is regarded as the temple of our democracy, for personal gains. She compromised on sensitive matters, pertaining to national security, in exchange for gifts. The country won’t spare her.”
Also weighing in on the issue, BJP leader and former Union Minister, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, said “those trying to brush it (‘cash for query’ charge) under the carpet are fools”.
West Bengal BJP leader Rahul Sinha also reacted strongly to the ethics panel’s report, recommending Mitra’s expulsion from the Lower House, and demanded her resignation as MP.
“The ethics committee has recommended the expulsion of the TMC leader (Mitra) in question and presented its report before the Lok Sabha Speaker. The committee made the correct decision and we (BJP) stand with them,” Sinha told.
“Mahua Moitra should tender her resignation forthwith as an MP. She should step down before being expelled from Parliament. Even her party, the Trinamool Congress, has cast her aside, calling it her ‘personal matter’,” Sinha added.
The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, which was investigating the cash-for-query allegations against the Trinamool Congress MP by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, met on Thursday and adopted a report, recommending her expulsion, on a 6:4 majority.
Speaking to media persons later, the panel’s chairman Vinod Sonkar said six members, including Congress MP Preneet Kaur, supported the report while four others opposed it.
He added said the panel will submit a ‘detailed report’ to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday.
“The recommendation report by the Parliament Ethics Committee was adopted on a 6:4 majority. Congress MP Preneet Kaur is one of the six MPs to have supported the draft. A detailed report is being submitted to the Lok Sabha Speaker tomorrow. The Speaker will now take a call on the action against the member concerned,” Sonkar said.
Last month, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker against Moitra, accusing her of asking questions in the Lower House targeting the Adani Group at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani, in exchange for gifts.
Hitting back, the embattled TMC MP alleged that the ethics committee, looking into her ‘role’ in the ‘cash for query’ case, was functioning like a ‘Kangaroo court’.
“Proud to go down in parliamentary history as 1st person to be unethically expelled by Ethics Comm whose mandate doesn’t include expulsion. 1st expel & THEN ask govt to ask CBI to find evidence. Kangaroo court, monkey business from start to finish” Mahua Moitra posted from her official X handle.
TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee also expressed solidarity with Moitra while saying she was competent and capable enough to fight her own battles.
“Just note that yesterday, the current chairman of the Ethics Committee recommended (Moitra’s) expulsion. When you have no evidence, how could you recommend expulsion (of a member)? I think she is competent enough to fight her own battles. They (central agencies) have been calling me for the last 4 years, trying to frame me in different cases,” Abhishek said.