Expel me now, I will be back in next Lok Sabha: Moitra strikes defiant note

Facing an expulsion recommendation in the "cash-for-query" row, TMC leader Mahua Moitra dismissed the Lok Sabha ethics committee's decision as a "prefixed match by a kangaroo court," and termed it a "death of parliamentary democracy".

The committee, chaired by BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar, adopted its report suggesting Moitra's expulsion on Thursday.

In a telephonic interview with PTI, Moitra said, "Even if they expel me in this Lok Sabha, I will be back in the next Lok Sabha with a bigger mandate."

"This is a pre-fixed match by a kangaroo court, which is of no surprise or consequence. But the larger message is that for India, it is death of parliamentary democracy," Moitra said.

Moitra termed the procedures of the ethics committee akin to a kangaroo court.

She claimed, "From day one, it was a kangaroo court. There is no evidence, no trail, nothing. They called me for questioning, which was not complete because the chairperson did not allow others to question me."

Moitra highlighted her demand for cross-examining the main complainant, stating, "There was no cross-examining of the main complainant, the alleged bribe giver. I was not allowed to cross-examine the main complainant. Not a single piece of evidence of cash or gifts given till today, the issue of login sharing is a non-issue because every MP shares it with 10 people and there are no NIC rules."

Clarifying her stance on login IDs and gifts, Moitra said she has neither done anything "unethical or illegal".

The TMC's Krishnanagar MP from Nadia district in Bengal has been accused of posing questions via her parliamentary account at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani and sharing her login credentials with him, with the complaint filed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.

Last week, Moitra had accused the Lok Sabha ethics committee of asking humiliating questions during a "cash-for-query" hearing, expressing her willingness to cooperate with the probe while emphasising the importance of protection from misogyny and maintaining decency.

Criticising the ethics committee for breaching its mandate, Moitra said, "The mandate of the panel cannot go to expulsion."

"If indeed it was a serious matter of cash for a query, that is an issue of a breach of privilege and should have gone to the privilege committee. The ethics committee's mandate is to look into unethical conduct. This is a typical hatchet job. Last night, it was leaked to the media," she said.

Moitra contended that there was no discussion on the recommendation; instead, when the meeting started, "The chairman said those in favour, please put up your hand."

"Let them place it before the house on the first day of the winter session, and we will take it from there. This expulsion recommendation is for the 17th Lok Sabha. I will be back with a bigger mandate in the next Lok Sabha, but as of now, nothing has happened," she said.

Pointing out discrepancies in the recommendation, Moitra called the ground of breach of national security "laughable."

"Second, they have said they have not found any evidence, 'but we are asking you to go to an investigating agency to find evidence'. So if you don't have any evidence, then on what ground are you expelling me or recommending my expulsion? This only shows their true intention," she said.

Moitra clarified that the recommendation is yet to be finalised and said it should be taken up during the winter session of Parliament.

She asserted that the decision does not deter her from continuing to question and expose the "BJP-Adani nexus" with greater vigour.

"First of all, this is just a recommendation; nothing has happened as of now. Let them take it up in the Winter Session of Parliament. This actually does nothing to me. This can't shut me up," she said.

Disputing the legitimacy of the ethics committee's mandate to recommend expulsion, Moitra criticised the saffron party, stating, "I am happy that BJP has shown to the entire country the mockery they have made of parliamentary democracy."

Regarding her future course of action, Moitra remarked, "First let them expel me," indicating that she would announce her next steps afterwards.