Cash-For-Query Row: Lok Sabha Panel Refuses Extension, Asks Mahua Moitra To Appear On Nov 2

Amid the ongoing row over 'cash for query' allegations against TMC MP Mahua Moitra, the Lok Sabha panel has refused an extension to Moitra and asked her to appear on November 2.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra

Source : Sansad TV

Amid the ongoing row over 'cash for query' allegations against TMC MP Mahua Moitra, the Lok Sabha panel has refused an extension to Moitra and asked her to appear on November 2, as reported by the news agency PTI.

On Friday, Moitra wrote to the Ethics Committee, which is probing the allegations against her, expressing her inability to appear before it on October 31, saying she will be available only after November 5, PTI reported. In its response, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee extended the date of appearance by three days, asking her to depose before it on November 2. The committee, however, said it will not entertain any request for further extension.

In the letter, the Lok Sabha MP cited her pre-scheduled constituency programmes a reason for her unavailability and sought time after November 5.

Mahua has been in soup since after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused her of receiving "cash and gifts" from businessman Darshan Hiranandani for asking questions in Parliament. Later, Darshanandani, in a signed affidavit, accepted proving Moitra with her luxurious demands while he used her parliament login to ask questions to target Gautam Adani and PM Narendra Modi.

The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha on Thursday called Mahua Moitra to appear before it on October 31 as the panel held the first meeting related to a "cash-for-query" complaint against her. In the first hearing, Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai recorded their statements before the panel on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Moitra said that she gave her Parliament login ID and password to businessman and her "friend" Darshan Hiranandani to get someone to type the questions to be asked in the Lok Sabha. She further stated that after putting the question in, an OTP (one-time password) comes to her mobile phone, and the question gets submitted only after she gives the OTP.

In an interview with India Today, Moitra said, "Someone in Darshan Hiranandani's office typed the question that I gave on the Parliament website. After putting the question, they would call me to inform me, 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."