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Senior TMC leader and Member of Parliament, Mahua Moitra, has requested additional time to appear before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee in...
Digital Desk: Senior TMC leader and Member of Parliament, Mahua Moitra, has requested additional time to appear before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee in connection with the ongoing cash-for-query row, stirring fresh controversy in Indian political circles. Moitra was initially scheduled to testify before the committee on October 31.
Amid the ongoing allegations surrounding the cash-for-query scandal, Moitra has also raised concerns about the handling of the case. She claimed that the summons, complaints, and affidavits were leaked to the media before the official letter was even emailed to her.
This development follows BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's strong assertion that the case against Moitra was an "open and shut" one and called for her disqualification during his testimony before the Ethics Committee on Thursday.
In response to these developments, Moitra took to her official social media account to express her grievances. She stated, “The Chairman of the Ethics Committee announced my summons for October 31 on live TV before the official letter was emailed to me at 19:20 hrs. All complaints and affidavits were also released to the media. I anticipate testifying immediately after my scheduled constituency programs conclude on November 4.”
To support her request for an extension, Moitra submitted a letter addressed to the committee chairperson, explaining her unavailability due to post-Vijay Dashami gatherings in her constituency in West Bengal's Nadia district until November 4. She asked for a hearing date and time after November 5.
On Thursday, Nishikant Dubey, along with advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, provided "oral evidence" to the committee against the Trinamool Congress MP. The committee's chairperson, Vinod Kumar Sonkar, indicated that they would seek assistance from the ministries of Home Affairs and Information Technology to further investigate the allegations.
In response to the committee's actions, Moitra expressed her concerns in a letter addressed to Chairman Vinod Sonkar. She highlighted that summoning and hearing the statements of complainants and witnesses before hers, the "alleged accused," goes "against the natural order of justice."
The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee initiated an examination of the cash-for-query allegations against Moitra on Thursday, hearing Dubey and Dehadrai for over two hours. Subsequently, the committee decided to contact the Ministry of Information Technology and the Ministry of Home Affairs to obtain all communication and conversations between Moitra, industrialist Darshan Hiranandani, and Dehadrai, aiming to get to the bottom of the allegations.
Committee Chairman Vinod Sonkar, a BJP MP, later informed reporters that Moitra had been summoned to appear before the panel on October 31. The saga surrounding the cash-for-query allegations is set to continue, with politicians and the public closely watching as events unfold.
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