New Delhi:

Trinamool Congress chief Mahua Moitra has been expelled from the Lok Sabha following an Ethics Committee report into the ‘cash for query’ fees in opposition to her. Ms Moitra, 49, was accused of taking bribes, together with Rs 2 crore in money and “luxury gift items”, from businessman Darshan Hiranandani, in trade for asking questions vital of the federal government in Parliament.

Ms Moitra was additionally accused of surrendering log-in credentials to her private and confidential account on the parliamentary web site, so Mr Hiranandani might put up questions instantly. A fiery critic of the Modi authorities, Ms Moitra had denied the bribery fees however admitted to sharing the log-in particulars.

READ | “Serious Misdemeanours…”: What Ethics Report On Mahua Moitra Says

After a tempestuous dialogue and voice vote, Mr Birla stated, “This House accepts the conclusions of the Committee – that MP Mahua Moitra’s conduct was immoral and indecent. So, it is not appropriate for her to continue as an MP…”

#WATCH | Cash for question matter | TMC’s Mahua Moitra expelled as a Member of the Lok Sabha; House adjourned until eleventh December.

Speaker Om Birla says, “…This House accepts the conclusions of the Committee that MP Mahua Moitra’s conduct was immoral and indecent as an MP. So, it… pic.twitter.com/mUTKqPVQsG

— ANI (@ANI) December 8, 2023

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who can also be Ms Moitra’s celebration boss, known as the expulsion “unacceptable” and said that “vendetta politics of (the) BJP had killed democracy”.

“Mahua will win the battle…. folks will give justice. They (BJP) will probably be defeated within the subsequent election,” Ms Banerjee said, drawing battle-lines (if more were needed) before next year’s general election.

Hours earlier the Ethics Committee presented its report – a nearly 500-page tome – in the House, triggering a furious row between the ruling BJP and the opposition, including Ms Moitra’s party. In the brief discussion that followed, apoplectic opposition MPs demanded more time to study the material, and fought for Ms Moitra to be allowed to speak.

However, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla refused permission, citing the 2005 expulsion of 10 MPs, including six from the BJP, caught in a similar controversy.

READ | Mahua Moitra Denied Permission To Speak During Ethics Report Debate

Ms Moitra, however, spoke to reporters outside Parliament after her expulsion and said the Ethics Committee “broke each rule”. “… Tomorrow, CBI will probably be despatched to my house to harass me…”

The CBI has opened an inquiry in the allegations against Ms Moitra.

The Ethics Committee report against Ms Moitra noted “allegations of accepting unlawful gratification (are) clearly established and are simple”, and that “taking items from (a) businessman to whom she handed over log-in (particulars) quantities to a quid professional quo… unbecoming of an MP and is unethical conduct”.

On the point Ms Moitra accepted cash as part of the bribes, the report called for the government to “criminally examine and unearth the ‘cash path'”, for which it said it “doesn’t have experience”.

The Ethics Committee’s final recommendation was that “…Smt Mahua Moitra, MP, could also be expelled from the membership of the Seventeenth Lok Sabha”. It also called for “a authorized institutional inquiry by the Government… in view of unethical, heinous, and prison conduct of Smt Mahua Moitra…”

This morning, as she walked into Parliament, a typically fierce Ms Moitra paused only to tell reporters, “Maa Durga aa gayi hai, ab dekhenge…Jab naash manuj par chhata hai, pehle vivek mar jaata hai (Maa Durga has come! Now we are going to see.. when destruction comes, conscience dies first).”

#WATCH | TMC MP Mahua Moitra says, “Maa Durga aa gayi hai, ab dekhenge…Jab naash manuj par chhata hai, pehle vivek mar jaata hai. They have began ‘vastraharan’ and now you’ll watch ‘Mahabharat ka rann’.”

Ethics Panel report on her to be tabled in Lok Sabha today. pic.twitter.com/r28o2ABVbB

— ANI (@ANI) December 8, 2023

Earlier Ms Banerjee accused the BJP of getting “deliberate” the expulsion of Ms Moitra – who is one of the ruling party’s fiercest and most vocal critics. “… however it will assist her earlier than the election,” she said.

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