The statement from the party comes after Mahua Moitra was accused of taking bribe to allow Darshan Hiranandani of H-Energy to post parliamentary questions directly on her behalf.
New Delhi: The TMC in its first official statement on the cash-for-query allegations against party MP Mahua Moitra said that appropriate action will be taken against her after the matter is investigated in a parliamentary forum. Notably, the TMC maintained silence on the issue for the past seven days.
The statement from the party comes after Mahua Moitra was accused of taking bribe to allow Darshan Hiranandani of H-Energy to post parliamentary questions directly on her behalf.
In the latest development, Lok Sabha’s ethics panel has called BJP lawmaker Nishikant Dubey and Moitra’s former friend Jai Anant Dehadrai on October 26 to depose before the committee.
Dehadrai, who lodged a complaint with the CBI against Moitra was also quoted by Dubey in his letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
TMC Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien on Sunday said, “We have observed reports in the media. The member concerned has been advised by the party leadership to clarify her position regarding the allegations levelled against her. She has already done that. However, since the matter has to do with an elected MP, her rights and privileges, let the matter be investigated by the right forum of Parliament, after which the party leadership will take an appropriate decision.”
In the meantime, Nishikant Dubey said he will be observing a “ceasefire till Dussehra on October 24”.
“Due to the auspicious occasion of Durga Puja, I invoke ceasefire from my side from Ashtami (today) to Dashmi on October 24,” BJP MP Dubey posted on X, a day after taking his complaint of corruption against her to Lokpal.
BJP MP on Saturday said he has lodged a complaint with the anti-corruption body watchdog, Lokpal, against the Trinamool Congress leader.
Taking to his official handle on social media platform X, Dubey posted in Hindi, “(I am) tired of hearing CBI, CBI. I filed a complaint (against Mahua Moitra) with the Lokpal today. The Lokpal is the only authority, which is mandated to look into complaints of corruption or impropriety against MPs, ministers or other people’s representatives. The CBI is an agency through which it carries forward its investigation into such complaints.”
The move by the BJP Lok Sabha MP to move the anti-corruption watchdog against Moitra comes at a time when the Ethics Committee of the Lower House is already looking into the allegations against her.
Earlier, in his letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, under the head “Re-emergence of nasty ‘Cash for Query’ in Parliament”, the BJP MP accused the TMC member of “serious Breach of Privilege”, “Contempt of the House” and a “criminal offence under Section 120A of IPC”.
In his complaint with the Lokpal, Dubey alleged that Moitra received Rs 2 crores in cash from businessman Darshan Hiranandani both in Indian and foreign currencies in lieu of posing questions in Parliament.
He alleged further the businessman used the Lok Sabha logging credentials of the TMC MP while she was travelling abroad.
Meanwhile, on Friday, Hiranandani submitted a “sworn” and notarised affidavit to the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha.
The accused Dubai-based businessman, who later turned approver in the matter, alleged that the TMC MP provided him with her “Parliament login and password” so that he “could post questions directly on her behalf when required”.
In her response to the affidavit, Moitra said earlier that it was “on white paper and not an official letterhead”.
“The affidavit is on white paper and not an official letterhead or notarized. Why would one of India’s most respected/educated businessmen sign a letter like this on white paper unless a gun was put on his head to do it?” she posted on X.