A parliamentary ethics panel meeting witnessed the departure of various opposition leaders, including Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Danish Ali. Moitra was summoned before Lok Sabha's ethics panel to address the 'cash for query' allegations against her.
Danish Ali strongly criticized the manner in which Mahua Moitra was questioned during the ethics panel meeting, likening it to "Draupadi's Cheerharan" and condemning the intrusive nature of the inquiries. He expressed his disapproval of the personal and unethical questions posed by the Ethics Committee Chairman, deeming them intolerable.
Additionally, Mahua Moitra, who had been accused of bribery by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, stated that she had been subjected to inappropriate questioning by the ethics panel, as evidenced in a video recording.
Congress MP N Uttam Kumar Reddy voiced his concern, deeming the questions posed by the Ethics Committee Chairman to be undignified and unethical. He suggested that the line of questioning seemed to be influenced by external forces, indicating a deeply problematic situation. The questions ranged from her travel destinations to her meetings and requests for phone records.
Janata Dal (United) MP Giridhari Yadav also expressed disapproval, asserting that the panel had no authority to ask such personal questions of Mahua Moitra.
Following the exit of the opposition leaders, the Ethics Committee continued its discussions regarding the 'cash-for-query' controversy. This dispute originated from allegations by Nishikant Dubey, who accused Moitra of accepting bribes in exchange for raising questions in Parliament. The complaint was based on a letter penned by Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, which claimed to provide "undeniable evidence of bribes" exchanged between Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani.
