Mahua Moitra appears before ethics panel in cash-for-query case

Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra, who is at the centre of a bribe-for-query row, appeared before the Ethics Committee of the lower house on Thursday.

The Committee is probing BJP Lok Sabha member Nishikant Dubey's bribe-for-query allegations against Moitra.

Dubey has accused Moitra of asking questions, which were keyed in through her parliamentary account, at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in return for bribes and favours from the Dubai-based scion of a well-known business family.

Moitra has admitted that she shared her log-in credentials with Hiranandani, whom she has described as a close friend for a long time, but has ruled out any pecuniary motive and asserted that the questions were always hers.

The Trinamool Congress MP has claimed that the Adani Group is behind the "bogus" charges due to her strident criticism of the business conglomerate.