Express News Service
Ahead of her deposition before the Lok Sabha ethics committee on ‘cash for query’ charges, TMC MP Mahua Moitra rubbished the allegations and said the real issue was not “cash to question”, but “cash to not question”
In an interview with a TV channel on Friday, the TMC lawmaker claimed that she was approached by two Lok Sabha MPs over the last three years to broker peace with Gautam Adani, the Adani Group’s Chairperson. Moitra has been one of the most vocal critics of the Adani group, particularly after a US short-seller, Hindenburg Research, accused the business conglomerate of running a financial scam involving the stocks of its companies.
Two weeks ago, she hit the headlines again after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and SC lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai accused her of accepting bribes and favors from business tycoon Darshan Hiranandani to raise questions in Parliament targeting Adani.
“Adani has approached me via two Lok Sabha MPs in the last three years to sit across the table with him and work out a deal. I have refused. The issue is, he was giving cash to not question when that didn’t work,” she said, adding that she doesn’t want to name the MPs.
She then received a message to keep quiet for six months till the elections are over, she claimed.
“Even last week, I was given a message to end all this and keep quiet for six months on Adani till the election. I was told that ‘if you want to attack Mr. Adani, you can do it slightly, but just don’t link the Prime Minister’s name,” she added.
In a signed affidavit, Hiranandani has admitted that he paid her bribes and he used Moitra’s Parliamentary login to ask questions targeting Adani after Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) booked capacity at Adani’s Dhamra LNG import facility in Odisha and not at his firm’s planned facility.
Admitting that she has shared the login details to ‘Hiranandani’s office’, Moitra said that questions were drafted by her only. She also said that there was no conflict of interest in raising questions on Dhamra port and Hiranandani was not a bidder in the process.
“Someone in Darshan Hiranandani’s office typed the question which I gave on the Parliament website. After putting the question, they would call me to inform and I would read all the questions in one go as I am always busy in my constituency. After putting the question, an OTP (one-time password) comes on my mobile phone. I would give that OTP and only then is the question submitted. So, the idea that Darshan would log in to my ID and put in questions of his own is ludicrous.”
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has no prescribed rules on login to the website, she pointed out. The Ethics Panel chairman has earlier said that it sought details from the IT ministry and MHA on the issue.
“Dubey has gone to the press and said this is a national security issue. This is laughable. The NIC was formed in 2019 and there are no rules as to who can have your login or not. Every single MP’s login and questions are given to large teams,” she said.
“BJP claims I have given my Parliament login to a foreign entity. Darsh is my friend and holds an Indian passport. BJP also claims Darshan logged in from Dubai. I have logged in from Switzerland. If the NIC question and answer is so protected, why don’t you put restrictions on IP addresses entering it?” she asked.
On allegations that she has accepted expensive gifts and bribes in lieu of asking questions, Moitra said that the only gifts she received from Hiranandani were “one scarf, one lipstick and one eye shadow”.
“The only thing I have received from Darshan, as a close personal friend, is one scarf as my birthday present three or four years ago. Then, he called from the Dubai airport asking if I wanted something. There is a brand called Bobbi Brown and he bought me lipstick from the brand, and eye shadow,” she said.
The MP also rubbished charges that she received Rs 2 crores in cash from Hiranandani both in Indian currency and foreign currency for asking questions in parliament.
“Now if cash has been given, please tell me the date on which it was given, the denomination, and the documentary proof. Dehadrai was asked 14 times by the committee members if he had any proof to show documentary evidence. The whole thing is a farce. I was a banker who earned much more than Rs 2 crores in 2008. But I quit my job and entered grassroots politics. So the charge that I took unproven cash is a ludicrous one,” she said.
In her letter to the ethics panel on Friday, Moitra sought permission to cross-examine Hiranandani on his allegations.
Responding to charges that Hiranandani funded the renovation of her bungalow, Moitra said, “When I was allotted my bungalow, it was in a dilapidated condition. I asked Darshan if he could get one of his architects [to see] how the doors can be re-designed so light can get in”. She further said that the renovation work was done by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and not a penny was funded by any private agency.
“The third thing Hiranandani has given me is, whenever I go to Bombay, which is maybe four or five times in the last five years, his car picks me up and drops me from the airport. I’ve never stayed with him. I stayed with my friends,” she said.
On the silence and lack of support from her party TMC, Moitra said that the entire episode is a media circus and TMC chief Mamta Banerjee doesn’t need to feed this.
“The BJP has written my political obituary many times. I am a trusted lieutenant and a loyal foot soldier of the TMC. Mamta Banerjee is fighting a much larger fight. She doesn’t need to feed this media circus. My party is behind me and I’m fully capable of sorting this in the ethics committee.
“So far I was keeping quiet because I was abiding by the rules of the committee that you cannot discuss something…there are millions of people in this country who looked to me as a voice to stand up against these fascist bullies and to speak out against Adani and his corruption.”
Calling the allegations a ‘badly constructed hit job’ she said: “The charge has been made by a person with an established, acrimonious personal relationship with me, who is engaged in a custody battle over a pet. As ridiculous as it may sound, that is the established truth.”
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Ahead of her deposition before the Lok Sabha ethics committee on ‘cash for query’ charges, TMC MP Mahua Moitra rubbished the allegations and said the real issue was not “cash to question”, but “cash to not question”
In an interview with a TV channel on Friday, the TMC lawmaker claimed that she was approached by two Lok Sabha MPs over the last three years to broker peace with Gautam Adani, the Adani Group’s Chairperson. Moitra has been one of the most vocal critics of the Adani group, particularly after a US short-seller, Hindenburg Research, accused the business conglomerate of running a financial scam involving the stocks of its companies.
Two weeks ago, she hit the headlines again after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and SC lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai accused her of accepting bribes and favors from business tycoon Darshan Hiranandani to raise questions in Parliament targeting Adani.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });
“Adani has approached me via two Lok Sabha MPs in the last three years to sit across the table with him and work out a deal. I have refused. The issue is, he was giving cash to not question when that didn’t work,” she said, adding that she doesn’t want to name the MPs.
She then received a message to keep quiet for six months till the elections are over, she claimed.
“Even last week, I was given a message to end all this and keep quiet for six months on Adani till the election. I was told that ‘if you want to attack Mr. Adani, you can do it slightly, but just don’t link the Prime Minister’s name,” she added.
In a signed affidavit, Hiranandani has admitted that he paid her bribes and he used Moitra’s Parliamentary login to ask questions targeting Adani after Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) booked capacity at Adani’s Dhamra LNG import facility in Odisha and not at his firm’s planned facility.
Admitting that she has shared the login details to ‘Hiranandani’s office’, Moitra said that questions were drafted by her only. She also said that there was no conflict of interest in raising questions on Dhamra port and Hiranandani was not a bidder in the process.
“Someone in Darshan Hiranandani’s office typed the question which I gave on the Parliament website. After putting the question, they would call me to inform and I would read all the questions in one go as I am always busy in my constituency. After putting the question, an OTP (one-time password) comes on my mobile phone. I would give that OTP and only then is the question submitted. So, the idea that Darshan would log in to my ID and put in questions of his own is ludicrous.”
The National Informatics Centre (NIC) has no prescribed rules on login to the website, she pointed out. The Ethics Panel chairman has earlier said that it sought details from the IT ministry and MHA on the issue.
“Dubey has gone to the press and said this is a national security issue. This is laughable. The NIC was formed in 2019 and there are no rules as to who can have your login or not. Every single MP’s login and questions are given to large teams,” she said.
“BJP claims I have given my Parliament login to a foreign entity. Darsh is my friend and holds an Indian passport. BJP also claims Darshan logged in from Dubai. I have logged in from Switzerland. If the NIC question and answer is so protected, why don’t you put restrictions on IP addresses entering it?” she asked.
On allegations that she has accepted expensive gifts and bribes in lieu of asking questions, Moitra said that the only gifts she received from Hiranandani were “one scarf, one lipstick and one eye shadow”.
“The only thing I have received from Darshan, as a close personal friend, is one scarf as my birthday present three or four years ago. Then, he called from the Dubai airport asking if I wanted something. There is a brand called Bobbi Brown and he bought me lipstick from the brand, and eye shadow,” she said.
The MP also rubbished charges that she received Rs 2 crores in cash from Hiranandani both in Indian currency and foreign currency for asking questions in parliament.
“Now if cash has been given, please tell me the date on which it was given, the denomination, and the documentary proof. Dehadrai was asked 14 times by the committee members if he had any proof to show documentary evidence. The whole thing is a farce. I was a banker who earned much more than Rs 2 crores in 2008. But I quit my job and entered grassroots politics. So the charge that I took unproven cash is a ludicrous one,” she said.
In her letter to the ethics panel on Friday, Moitra sought permission to cross-examine Hiranandani on his allegations.
Responding to charges that Hiranandani funded the renovation of her bungalow, Moitra said, “When I was allotted my bungalow, it was in a dilapidated condition. I asked Darshan if he could get one of his architects [to see] how the doors can be re-designed so light can get in”. She further said that the renovation work was done by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and not a penny was funded by any private agency.
“The third thing Hiranandani has given me is, whenever I go to Bombay, which is maybe four or five times in the last five years, his car picks me up and drops me from the airport. I’ve never stayed with him. I stayed with my friends,” she said.
On the silence and lack of support from her party TMC, Moitra said that the entire episode is a media circus and TMC chief Mamta Banerjee doesn’t need to feed this.
“The BJP has written my political obituary many times. I am a trusted lieutenant and a loyal foot soldier of the TMC. Mamta Banerjee is fighting a much larger fight. She doesn’t need to feed this media circus. My party is behind me and I’m fully capable of sorting this in the ethics committee.
“So far I was keeping quiet because I was abiding by the rules of the committee that you cannot discuss something…there are millions of people in this country who looked to me as a voice to stand up against these fascist bullies and to speak out against Adani and his corruption.”
Calling the allegations a ‘badly constructed hit job’ she said: “The charge has been made by a person with an established, acrimonious personal relationship with me, who is engaged in a custody battle over a pet. As ridiculous as it may sound, that is the established truth.”
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