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By PTI
NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Winter session of Parliament beginning on December 4, the Congress’ Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday wrote to Speaker Om Birla, saying the expulsion of TMC MP Mahua Moitra from Parliament is an “extremely serious punishment and has very wide ramifications”.
In his four-page letter to the Speaker, Chowdhury demanded a relook at the rules and processes of parliamentary committees, asserting that there is no clear demarcation in the roles envisaged for the Privileges Committee and the Ethics Committee, especially on exercising penal powers.
“If the media reports on the recommendations of the Ethics Committee on choosing to recommend expelling Mohua Moitra from Parliament are right, it would, perhaps be the first such recommendation of the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha,” Chowdhury said in his letter to the Speaker.
“Expulsion from Parliament, you will agree sir, is an extremely serious punishment and has very wide ramifications,” he added.
Chowdhury, who is also chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said the views expressed by him are in his capacity.
READ MORE | Now, CBI goes after Mahua Moitra, begins its initial investigation
The Congress leader also said there is no clear definition of “unethical conduct” and a “code of conduct”, though envisaged under Rule 316B of the Rules of Procedure, remains to be formulated.
These issues, inclusive of the procedures being followed by the committee, may require deeper attention and the processes streamlined under the speaker’s guidance, he said in the letter.
The report of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee recommending the expulsion of Moitra in the “cash-for-query” case will be tabled in the lower house on Monday.
According to the agenda papers circulated by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Ethics Committee Chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar will lay on the table of the House the panel’s first report.
The committee, at a meeting on November 9, adopted its report recommending Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha over the “cash-for-query” allegation.
Chowdhury said in his letter, “I have felt this to be necessary mainly in the light of the phenomenal coverage, scrutiny and analysis — a substantial amount of which was unwarranted — that the working of the Ethics Committee of Parliament received in the matter of examining and reporting on the purported acts of misdemeanour on the part of a fellow Parliamentarian and colleague Mahua Moitra,” he said.
The Congress leader said given the facts about the examination of and reporting on the complaints of misdemeanour on the part of Moitra by the Ethics Committee, “I would once again urge upon you to have the entire processes relating to the jurisdiction and procedures followed examined and such remedial measures, as needed, taken towards streamlining the functioning”.
To ensure that members do not become susceptible and find themselves on the “wrong side”, the protocols relating to the functioning of the Lok Sabha’s official portal will have to be looked into and reviewed, he asserted.
READ MORE | ‘Before you push out women MPs with fake narrative remember…’ Mahua Moitra warns BJP
“I am sure that under your leadership and control, no injustice will be done and the processes relating to the functioning of Parliament and conduct of the business of the House is smoothened for the benefit of all members,” Chowdhury said.
Citing records, Chowdhury said the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee, before the proceedings against Moitra, dealt with a miniscule number of cases that mainly pertained to purported acts of deviation from the general norms of conduct with the punitive action recommended being confined to admonition, reprimand and suspension from sittings of the House for a specified period.
“The purported act of misdemeanour on the part of Mahua Moitra, which is sharing her ‘login credentials and passwords’ for the ‘official portal’ with a Dubai-based businessman to ‘raise questions in Parliament in return for gifts/favours’ has also been compared and a parallel drawn with the 2005 case where 10 members of Lok Sabha were expelled for receiving cash for posing questions in Parliament,” he noted.
The Congress leader also pointed out that the proceedings of the committee’s sittings are strictly confidential.
“Yet, the chairman of the Ethics Committee, as well as the complainant member, were openly parading their views and passing judgments while the matter was under investigation and formulation of the findings and framing the report was underway,” he said.
READ MORE | Mahua Moitra row: Lok Sabha underlines confidentiality of government’s replies to members Follow channel on WhatsApp
NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Winter session of Parliament beginning on December 4, the Congress’ Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday wrote to Speaker Om Birla, saying the expulsion of TMC MP Mahua Moitra from Parliament is an “extremely serious punishment and has very wide ramifications”.
In his four-page letter to the Speaker, Chowdhury demanded a relook at the rules and processes of parliamentary committees, asserting that there is no clear demarcation in the roles envisaged for the Privileges Committee and the Ethics Committee, especially on exercising penal powers.
“If the media reports on the recommendations of the Ethics Committee on choosing to recommend expelling Mohua Moitra from Parliament are right, it would, perhaps be the first such recommendation of the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha,” Chowdhury said in his letter to the Speaker.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
“Expulsion from Parliament, you will agree sir, is an extremely serious punishment and has very wide ramifications,” he added.
Chowdhury, who is also chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, said the views expressed by him are in his capacity.
READ MORE | Now, CBI goes after Mahua Moitra, begins its initial investigation
The Congress leader also said there is no clear definition of “unethical conduct” and a “code of conduct”, though envisaged under Rule 316B of the Rules of Procedure, remains to be formulated.
These issues, inclusive of the procedures being followed by the committee, may require deeper attention and the processes streamlined under the speaker’s guidance, he said in the letter.
The report of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee recommending the expulsion of Moitra in the “cash-for-query” case will be tabled in the lower house on Monday.
According to the agenda papers circulated by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, Ethics Committee Chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar will lay on the table of the House the panel’s first report.
The committee, at a meeting on November 9, adopted its report recommending Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha over the “cash-for-query” allegation.
Chowdhury said in his letter, “I have felt this to be necessary mainly in the light of the phenomenal coverage, scrutiny and analysis — a substantial amount of which was unwarranted — that the working of the Ethics Committee of Parliament received in the matter of examining and reporting on the purported acts of misdemeanour on the part of a fellow Parliamentarian and colleague Mahua Moitra,” he said.
The Congress leader said given the facts about the examination of and reporting on the complaints of misdemeanour on the part of Moitra by the Ethics Committee, “I would once again urge upon you to have the entire processes relating to the jurisdiction and procedures followed examined and such remedial measures, as needed, taken towards streamlining the functioning”.
To ensure that members do not become susceptible and find themselves on the “wrong side”, the protocols relating to the functioning of the Lok Sabha’s official portal will have to be looked into and reviewed, he asserted.
READ MORE | ‘Before you push out women MPs with fake narrative remember…’ Mahua Moitra warns BJP
“I am sure that under your leadership and control, no injustice will be done and the processes relating to the functioning of Parliament and conduct of the business of the House is smoothened for the benefit of all members,” Chowdhury said.
Citing records, Chowdhury said the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee, before the proceedings against Moitra, dealt with a miniscule number of cases that mainly pertained to purported acts of deviation from the general norms of conduct with the punitive action recommended being confined to admonition, reprimand and suspension from sittings of the House for a specified period.
“The purported act of misdemeanour on the part of Mahua Moitra, which is sharing her ‘login credentials and passwords’ for the ‘official portal’ with a Dubai-based businessman to ‘raise questions in Parliament in return for gifts/favours’ has also been compared and a parallel drawn with the 2005 case where 10 members of Lok Sabha were expelled for receiving cash for posing questions in Parliament,” he noted.
The Congress leader also pointed out that the proceedings of the committee’s sittings are strictly confidential.
“Yet, the chairman of the Ethics Committee, as well as the complainant member, were openly parading their views and passing judgments while the matter was under investigation and formulation of the findings and framing the report was underway,” he said.
READ MORE | Mahua Moitra row: Lok Sabha underlines confidentiality of government’s replies to members Follow channel on WhatsApp
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