(There is also Trinamool-CPI-M ,,, bhai bhai angle !!)
A senior TMC leader said, “We have adopted a wait and watch stand on this issue. Moitra is taking necessary steps on Dubey’s allegation. So, we are closely watching the situation.”
Significantly, another rival of the TMC, the CPI(M), has taken a softer line towards Moitra. CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “We have no problems if an investigation is initiated in the ‘cash for query’ allegation. But, simultaneously, we should note that Moitra has always taken a strong stand against the BJP. She might be targeted because of it – that should also be kept in mind.”
The Ethics committee, Lok Sabha on Wednesday summoned ruling party BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai to provide “oral evidence” in the former’s ‘cash for query’ complaint against Trinamool Congress lawmaker Mahua Moitra on October 26.
“Oral evidence of Dr. Nishikant Dubey, MP, in respect of complaint dated 15 October, 2023 given by him against Smt. Mahua Moitra, MP for alleged direct involvement in cash for query in Parliament,” sources said.
“I am directed to state that the Committee on Ethics has decided to hear you in the above matter, in person, on Thursday, 26 October, 2023…,” said the letter sent by a secretariat official.
The committee is looking into Dubey’s allegation that Moitra took “bribes” from a businessman to ask questions in Parliament to target the Adani group, a charge that the latter has rejected. The summons came after Dubey wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, asking him to constitute an “inquiry committee” to look into the charges against her and sought Moitra’s suspension from the House till the panel submitted its report.
Ms Moitra, a former investor banker, dismissed the charges, and asked the Speaker to first probe the “multiple breach of privileges pending against Dubey and other BJP leaders”. She has also approached the Delhi High Court seeking to restrain Dubey, Dehadrai and several social media platforms and media houses from posting, circulating or publishing any alleged fake and defamatory content against her.
Allegations against Trinamool leader Mahua Moitra and Hiranandani Group turns political and murkier
The Adani Group issued a statement based on an allegation that Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra targeted Gautam Adani and his companies through parliamentary questions.
An Adani Group spokesperson highlighted that a Supreme Court lawyer recently filed a formal complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), submitting a sworn affidavit that outlined what he described as "the commission of an elaborate criminal conspiracy".
The conspiracy revolves around the actions of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and Darshan Hiranandani, the CEO of the Hiranandani Group.
The complaint claims that Moitra and Hiranandani orchestrated a plan to specifically target Gautam Adani and his conglomerate of companies through a series of parliamentary questions. However, the Hiranandani Group has denied allegations of bribing the TMC MP.
The Adani Group statement suggested that the lawyer's affidavit as part of this alleged quid pro quo arrangement, Moitra received bribes and a host of undue favors from Hiranandani. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has written a letter to Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister of State (MoS) of IT Rajeev Chandrashekhar over bribe allegations against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra.
Dubey also wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, saying that he had received a letter from a Supreme Court lawyer who shared "irrefutable" evidence of bribes allegedly exchanged between Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani. Saying that the incident was reminiscent of the 2005 'Cash for Query' scandal., the BJP MP urged the Speaker to form a probe panel to look into the charges.
Lawmaker from Jharkhand, Nishikant Dubey, in his letter to the IT Minister, sought a probe into whether Mahua Moitra had given access to her login credentials for the Lok Sabha website to Hiranandani and his real-estate conglomerate Hiranandani Group, so they could "utilise it for their own personal gain".
Calling it "possibly the most damning and grave of all the charges" being made against her, Dubey said that if the claims are found to be true, it "constitutes a serious criminal breach of trust as well as a violation of India's national security".
Further, the BJP MP asked for an investigation to ascertain the IP address of all login credentials of Moitra's Lok Sabha account and to determine if there were any instances where it was accessed at a location where she was not present.
"In addition, I request that you determine whether there are any instances in which her Lok Sabha account was accessed at a location in which she was not present," Dubey wrote in the letter.
The Hiranandani group denied the allegations saying they have "no merit."
"We have always been in the business of business and not in the business of politics. Our group has always worked with the government in there interest of the nation and will continue doing so," a spokesperson of the Hiranandani group said.
Adani Group referred to its statement of last week where it had stated that "some foreign entities like the OCCRP, supported by a section of the foreign media, short-sellers and domestic collaborators, have launched a series of attacks against the Adani Group with the primary intent of dragging down its market value."
"In fact, these individuals and groups, bound by the common objective of damaging the Adani Group, have developed a playbook which is being executed to perfection by a well-oiled and professional machinery working in sync both within India and abroad," it said.
It has been also stated that "one (of the) tactic in their playbook" was to put out media reports recycling "baseless allegations" ahead of the hearing of an Adani-related case in the Supreme Court.
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