TMC MP Nusrat Jahan on Cash for Query report: “Mahua needs to have a chance to speak for herself”
December 8, New Delhi, India—After the Ethics Committee’s report, which called for Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra to be expelled in a “Cash-for-query” case, was presented to the Lok Sabha, TMC MP Nusrat Jahan publicly defended her party colleague and stated that Moitra should be given the chance to speak for herself because she is the one most impacted by this situation.
TMC MP from Basirhat questioned the Ethics panel’s investigation, accusing the Modi administration of lacking compassion for women in this nation.
Nusrat Jahan said, “Has it actually been fairly conducted? We don’t know. Because this Government hasn’t been really fair when it comes to women. We have asked for a hard copy of the report. Our leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay has asked for it.”
“After studying the report, we can come to a conclusion and when the discussion happens, we have all requested that Mahua be given an opportunity to speak for herself and say whatever she feels because she is the most affected in this case,” she added.
Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party MP and Ethics Committee chairperson Vinod Kumar laid on the table the first Report (Hindi and English versions) of the Committee on Ethics. The House was adjourned till 2 PM amid a ruckus created by the opposition leader.
Stating that the report was adopted in a hurry without following the correct procedure, BSP MP Danish Ali, who is a member of the Ethics Committee said, “We are demanding a discussion on the report because the discussions were incomplete even at the Ethics Committee. Deposition of the one against whom allegations have been made was not complete.”
“The kind of questions that were asked of her were such that five members of the committee walked out. After that walkout, the adoption report was put forth and it was adopted within two and half a minutes. Having a majority doesn’t mean that you will do whatever you want,” the BSP MP said.
The Ethics Committee, which investigated the allegations made by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, adopted its 500-page report on November 9 recommending Moitra’s expulsion from the 17th Lok Sabha in view of her “highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal conduct.
Last month, the panel adopted the draft report with a 6:4 majority.
The draft report on Moitra’s cash-for-questions case, according to the sources, shows that she traveled to the UAE four times between 2019 and 2023, during which time her login was accessed multiple times.
The report was approved by six panel members, one of whom was the Congress MP Preneet Kaur, who is currently suspended. Dissent notes were submitted by four opposition party panel members. The opposition members referred to the report as a “fixed match” and said that there was not a single “shred of evidence” to back up Dubey’s complaint, which the panel had examined.
Only if the House votes to approve the panel’s recommendation can Moitra be removed.
