Mahua Moitra agrees to appear before LS ethics panel on Nov 2, but...

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday said she will appear before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on November 2 in the cash-for-query case, but asserted that she should be allowed to cross-examine businessman Darshan Hiranandani, from whom she is accused of taking bribes to ask questions in Parliament.

The Lok Sabha ethics committee had earlier asked her to appear on October 31. She had requested a hearing date after November 5 to accommodate her existing commitments but was denied an extension beyond November 2.

In a letter to the chairperson of the Lok Sabha ethics committee on Tuesday, Moitra said she will appear before the panel on November 2, but questioned whether it is the appropriate forum to examine allegations of alleged criminality.

She said parliamentary committees lack criminal jurisdiction and emphasised the importance of involving law enforcement agencies in such cases. "While registering my protest, I wish to inform you that I will respect the summons and appear before the committee on November 2, 2023, at 11 am," she said.

Moitra also expressed her desire to cross-examine alleged "bribe-giver," Darshan Hiranandani, who submitted an affidavit to the committee "without offering substantial evidence".

The Lok Sabha MP also sought to cross-examine the complainant, Jai Anant Dehadrai, who she claimed provided no documentary evidence to support the charges.

"In light of the seriousness of the allegations, it is imperative that the alleged 'bribe-giver' Darshan Hiranandani, who has given a 'suo-motu' affidavit to the committee with scant details and no documentary evidence whatsoever, be called to depose before the committee and provide the said evidence in the form of a documented itemised inventory with amounts, date etc," she said.

"I wish to place on record that in keeping with the principles of natural justice I wish to exercise my right to cross-examine Hiranandani," she said.

Moitra highlighted that an inquiry without allowing her the opportunity to cross-examine would be "incomplete and unfair".

Highlighting the absence of a structured code of conduct for members, she emphasised the need for objectivity and fairness in addressing individual cases and avoiding political partisanship in the committee.

She also expressed disappointment on the scheduling of the hearing which she said coincides with her pre-scheduled Vijayadashami events.

Moitra also raised concerns about what she claimed were "double standards" of the ethics committee in issuing a summons.

She said the panel has adopted a very different approach in the case of BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri who has a "very serious complaint of hate speech" pending against him with the privileges and ethics branch.

Bidhuri was summoned on October 10 to provide oral evidence but he expressed his inability to depose as he was away campaigning in Rajasthan, she said.

"No further date of his hearing has been given so far. I wish to place on record that these double standards reek of political motives and do little to enhance the credibility of the privileges & ethics branch," she said.