Moitra played with national security, Ethics Committee's decision fair: BJP's Nishikant Dubey
Nov 10, 2023
New Delhi [India], November 10 : Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey on Friday said that the Mahua Moitra played with national security and that the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee's decision to adopt the report against the TMC MP is fair.
Moitra is facing 'cash for query' allegations by Nishikant Dubey, who alleged that she had allegedly taken bribes from Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani to raise questions in Parliament to target the Adani Group. The TMC MP is also accused of sharing her Parliament login and password with Hiranandani so that he could post the questions directly on her behalf when required.
The BJP MP, while speaking to ANI, said that Moitra posed around 50-55 questions in the interest of corporate houses.
"If an MP says that my OTP is used by four other people, this is wrong. The government has not given this authority. If we have a portal and login credentials, that is because we are MPs. Lok Sabha Secretariat has given a PA for all MPs and if that PA is not competent, you can remove it and appoint a new one, but you can't give your login credentials to an outsider. There is sensitive information about India, and the market can be manipulated with that information. In this entire case, Mahua Moitra played with national security," Dubey said.
He said, "The public elects us so that we can improve the education and other facilities of our constituency. We are not elected to act as a broker for corporates. They (the public) do not say that we should ask 50-55 questions out of 61 in the interest of corporates."
Earlier on Thursday, the meeting of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee which is investigating the cash-for-query allegations, adopted the report against Moitra with a 6:4 majority.
According to panel chairman Vinod Sonkar, six members of the committee supported the report, including Congress MP Preneet Kaur, while four members opposed it.
'"If the Ethics Committee has taken such a decision (of adopting its report) then it is fair," Dubey said. "This was my wish and I think God will fulfil it," he added.
Earlier last month, Dubey approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against Moitra, accusing her of asking questions in Lok Sabha to target the Adani Group at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for gifts.
As per the sources, the draft report on Mahua Moitra's cash-for-questions case reveals that she visited the UAE four times from 2019 to 2023 while her login was accessed several times.
"On 47 occasions, her member portal login credentials were accessed from Dubai," according to the draft report of the ethics committee.
The Ethics Committee had sought details reports from Information Technology (IT) and Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) regarding IP address and location. The committee had also sought MHA's input on the dangers of sharing login credentials, emphasizing the legal consequences under Section IT ACT 2000.
The draft report is learnt to have suggested that "serious misdemeanours on the part of Mahua Moitra calls for severe punishment".
"The Committee, therefore, recommends that Mahua Moitra, MP may be expelled from the Membership of the Seventeenth Lok Sabha. In view of the highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal conduct of Mahua Moitra, the Committee recommend for an intense, legal, institutional inquiry by the Government of India in a time-bound manner," the report is learnt to have said.
"'Unethical Conduct' and 'Contempt of the House' by Mahua Moitra by way of accepting money - cash and kind, amenities and various other facilities by Mahua Moitra, MP from Darshan Hiranandani, Business Tycoon, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates," it is learnt to have said.
The draft report spans approximately 500 pages.