NEW DELHI: After her expulsion from the Lok Sabha on December 8 due to the ‘cash for query’ case, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra faces the possibility of losing her official bungalow. The Lok Sabha House Committee has reportedly urged the Urban Affairs ministry to instruct her to vacate the residence on Telegraph Lane.
Sources indicate that the housing and urban affairs ministry has already initiated the process to have Moitra’s official bungalow vacated. In response to her expulsion, Moitra moved the Supreme Court on Monday, challenging the decision. The Ethics Committee had recommended her expulsion, finding her guilty of accepting cash and gifts for posting questions in Parliament on behalf of business tycoon Darshan Hiranandani. The motion for her expulsion, moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi, was adopted by a voice vote. Moitra contested her expulsion, labeling it as the decision of a kangaroo court.
The Ethics Committee also called for an “intense, legal, institutional inquiry” by the central government in a “time-bound manner.” Furthermore, the panel held Moitra accountable for compromising national security by sharing her Parliament login ID and password with unauthorized individuals.
Despite the controversy, Moitra received support from her party chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who pledged to fight against the BJP both inside and outside Parliament. Several opposition leaders, including senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, also expressed unstinting support for Moitra after her expulsion.
The ‘cash for query’ scandal unfolded in October when BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, based on a complaint by Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, alleged that Moitra had raised questions in Parliament in exchange for cash and gifts from Hiranandani. In a subsequent affidavit to the Ethics panel, Hiranandani claimed that Moitra had provided him with her login ID and password of the LS portal to post questions.
Housing ministry initiates procedure
The Lok Sabha House Committee has reportedly urged the Urban Affairs ministry to instruct her to vacate the residence on Telegraph Lane. Sources indicate that the housing and urban affairs ministry has already initiated the process to have Moitra’s official bungalow vacated.