Mahua Moitra, Oppn members walk out over ‘undignified’ questions

New Delhi/ Kolkata: Opposition members of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on Thursday stormed out of its meeting along with Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra as they accused its chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar of asking her “indecent personal” questions, a charge he said was motivated to shield the parliamentarian from queries into her “unethical conduct”.

The Opposition members were said to have pointed out repeatedly that the questions were “undignified and demeaning to the TMC MP” and that he should refrain from doing so. They also said the line of questioning was inappropriate.

Moitra, who pleaded innocence to bribery allegations, termed Sonkar’s questions to her “filthy” following the walkout while he defended the queries saying they were related to businessman Darshan Hiranandani’s affidavit in which he admitted to giving her bribes and using her parliamentary login ID to ask questions on her behalf.

Later in the evening, Moitra wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla alleging that she was subjected to the “proverbial vastraharan” by Sonkar during a hearing on the cash-for-query allegations against her.

“I write to you in great anguish today to update you on the unethical, sordid, and prejudiced behaviour meted out to me at the hearing of the Ethics Committee by the Chairman. I have been subjected to the proverbial ‘vastraharan’ by him in the presence of all members of the Committee,” Moitra said in her strongly worded letter.

“The committee ought to designate itself under a name other than the Ethics committee as it has no ethics and morality left. Instead of asking questions pertinent to the subject, the Chairman exhibited a preconceived bias by maliciously and clearly in a defamatory way questioning me, so much so that 5 of the 11 members present walked out and boycotted the proceedings in protest at his shameful conduct,” she said.

Angry words and accusations flew thick and fast at the over four-hour-long meeting of the panel which might now prepare its recommendations and adopt a draft report at the next meeting, which is yet to be scheduled. It may recommend action against Moitra, sources said.

Opposition members, including N Uttam Kumar Reddy of the Congress, Danish Ali of the BSP and Girdhari Yadav of the JD(U), hit out at Sonkar.

Reddy accused Sonkar of acting at someone’s behest, an apparent jibe at the government, while Ali lashed out at indecent and unethical queries.

They also objected to the alleged leak of reports submitted to the panel by Union Ministries of IT and Home about the details, including the place and timing of log-in to Moitra’s parliamentary ID and her foreign travels. The committee had sought the assistance of the ministries for its inquiry.

They claimed BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who is the complainant against Moitra, had already shared some of the details. The third-term BJP MP from Godda in Jharkhand on Wednesday referred to “media reports” that her login ID was opened 47 times from Hiranandani’s place in Dubai and as many questions were asked in Parliament.

“It is a farcical exercise. We found the questions asked of her undignified and unethical,” Reddy alleged.

Defending the committee’s action, Sonkar told reporters it has been tasked with conducting a comprehensive probe. But instead of cooperating, he said, Moitra turned angry along with Opposition members as they used “objectionable words” and made unethical claims against him.

BJP members said it was natural for the committee chairperson to ask her about her travel details. Opposition members alleged she was also queried about whom she met during her visits and other “personal” details.

Every question posed to her was relevant to the allegations against her, BJP MPs insisted.

Moitra appeared before the committee at 11 am and spoke for over an hour, pleading innocence and claiming the allegations were borne out of personal animus of advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai after she ended her personal relationship with him.

Dubey’s complaint is based on details submitted by Dehadrai.

During the deposition, BJP member V D Sharma asked Moitra to respond to the substantive part of the allegation against her and not make it all about personal issues.

Opposition members like Ali and Reddy have supported her line of argument and asserted that there is no evidence to support bribery charges against her.

However, things turned rather stormy when the committee reassembled after lunch and voted to extend its meeting beyond the schedule to hear out the Krishnanagar MP and cross-examine her.

Citing Dehadrai’s submission, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had filed a complaint against Moitra with Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla who referred the matter to the ethics committee.

Meanwhile, the TMC on Thursday slammed the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, accusing it of operating in an “unethical and immoral” manner during the questioning of party MP Mahua Moitra in connection with the cash-for-query investigation.

“The Lok Sabha Ethics committee functioned in the most unethical and immoral way by asking personal and unethical questions to a woman MP. She was asked filthy questions, and the panel seemed to relish the insult meted out to her,” senior TMC leader and Bengal minister Shashi Panja said.

The BJP and the Union government talk about ‘Nari Shakti’ (women’s power), but they are insulting a woman, she added.

“This is their true nature. The BJP is good at protecting leaders and MPs accused of disrespecting MPs from opposition parties while harassing women wrestlers of the country,” she stated.

Panja was referring to the alleged sexual harassment of lady grapplers by BJP MP Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.

The CPI(M) also asserted that the panel cannot act as ‘moral police’ and ask personal questions, as alleged by Moitra. “It’s not the mandate of the ethics committee to go into the personal conduct of a member, it’s not a moral police,” CPI(M) West Bengal secretary Mohd Salim told the media in Kolkata. WITH AGENCIES INPUTS