The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee has requested Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra to appear before it on November 2 in connection with the cash-for-query case, adjusting the previously scheduled date from October 31. The committee has emphasized that no further extensions will be granted.
In response to this development, Mahua Moitra penned a letter to the panel chairperson, Vinod Sonkar, expressing her inability to appear before the committee on October 31. She indicated that she would only be available for attendance after November 5. Moitra conveyed her eagerness to physically attend and present her defense against the allegations, asserting her right to cross-examine businessman Darshan Hiranandani.
Furthermore, she called for Hiranandani's appearance before the committee to provide a detailed and verified list of the purported gifts and favors he allegedly offered to her.
The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, in response to Moitra's request for an extension, rescheduled her appearance to November 2 and firmly declared that no further extensions would be entertained.
The case under scrutiny involves allegations by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who accused Moitra of accepting bribes and favors in exchange for posing questions in the Lok Sabha, all of which he claimed was orchestrated by businessman Hiranandani. In response to these accusations, Moitra has insisted on her right to a fair hearing and an opportunity to defend herself against the defamatory charges.
Dubey had also suggested that Moitra had shared her Lok Sabha login credentials with a businessman, a claim to which Moitra responded by emphasizing the extensive involvement of parliamentary staff in the work of MPs. She also urged the release of information regarding the training provided to staff for logging in but did not provide further details.
