'Was Asked Filthy Questions': Mahua Moitra, Oppn Leaders Storm Out Of Parliament Ethics Panel Hearing

Mahua Moitra stormed out of the Parliament Ethics Committee meeting accusing the panel of asking her a bunch of “filthy questions”.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra arrives to appear before Lok Sabha Ethics Committee.

New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, along with other Opposition leaders stormed out of the Parliament Ethics Committee meeting on Thursday accusing the panel of asking her a bunch of “filthy questions”. In a video posted by news agency ANI, Moitra, along with BSP MP Danish Ali, looked visibly angry as they walked out of the ethics panel hearing. The TMC leader was asked to depose before the committee in connection with the cash-for-query row.

"Is this an ethics committee?...Asking all sorts of filthy questions,” Moitra can be heard saying in the ANI video.

#WATCH | Delhi: Opposition parties MPs including TMC MP Mahua Moitra and BSP MP Danish Ali, walked out from the Parliament Ethics Committee meeting.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra appeared before the Parliament Ethics Committee in connection with the 'cash for query' charge against her. pic.twitter.com/EkwYLPnD1O

— ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2023

“The whole line of questions…it seems like he's (Parliament Ethics Committee Chairman) acting on somebody's behest. It is very, very bad. For two days we have been asking him some things...They are asking her (Mahua Moitra) where are you travelling? Who are you meeting? Can you give us your phone records?... There is no evidence of any cash transfer,” Congress MP Uttam Kumar Reddy said.

Janata Dal (United) MP Giridhari Yadav alleged the panel asked “personal questions” to Moitra. “They asked personal questions to the woman (TMC MP Mahua Moitra). They do not have the right to ask personal questions, so we walked out,” he said.

#WATCH | Janata Dal (United) MP Giridhari Yadav says, "They asked personal questions to the woman (TMC MP Mahua Moitra). They do not have the right to ask personal questions, so we walked out."

Congress MP Uttam Kumar Reddy says, "The whole line of questions it seems that he's… pic.twitter.com/vhrFrcJ3SV

— ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2023

BJP leader Aparajita Sarangi condemned Moitra for storming out of the meeting and sharing the details that were supposed to be “confidential”.

“The proceedings of the Parliamentary Standing Committee are confidential by nature. So, the very thing that she (Mahua Moitra) did was wrong. They all came out and said what transpired within the committee, it was wrong. She should not have done that. These things are very confidential. The conduct of Mahua Moitra was condemnable. She used unparliamentary words for our chairman and for all the members of the committee. The chairperson of the committee was asking questions regarding the contents of the affidavit by Hiranandani and she did not want to answer. Then they created a ruckus,” ANI quoted Sarangi as saying.

#WATCH | After the Parliament Ethics Committee meeting, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi says, "The proceedings of the Parliamentary Standing Committee are confidential by nature. So the very thing that she (TMC MP Mahua Moitra) did was wrong. They all came out and they all said things… pic.twitter.com/q1vNzXi3DJ

— ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2023

Responding to Moitra’s allegations, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said the former set a “wrong narrative” to the public through her behaviour.

VIDEO | "I and (Jai Anant) Dehadrai went there as witnesses and Mahua Moitra went as an accused. However, she went on to give interviews and quoting on what happened inside the committee of ethics. She tried to set a wrong narrative in the public. What happened today is the… pic.twitter.com/2jyhi23YyS

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 2, 2023

“I and (Jai Anant) Dehadrai went there as witnesses and Mahua Moitra went as an accused. However, she went on to give interviews and quoting on what happened inside the ethics committee meeting. She tried to set a wrong narrative to the public. What happened today is the darkest day in parliamentary history,” PTI quoted Dubey as saying.

Moitra Used Unparliamentary Language: Ethics Committee Chairperson

Parliament Ethics Committee chairperson, Vinod Sonkar, said instead of giving answers to the questions asked, Moitra got infuriated and used “unparliamentary” language against the panel chief and the other members.

#WATCH | Chairman of Parliament Ethics Committee, Vinod Sonkar says, "Instead of giving answers, she (Mahua Moitra) got angry and used unparliamentary language for the Chairperson, and Committee members. Danish Ali, Girdhari Yadav and other opposition MPs tried to accuse the… https://t.co/rIAz38FxoU pic.twitter.com/aA4I4E26AF

— ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2023

“Instead of giving answers, she (Mahua Moitra) got angry and used unparliamentary language for the Chairperson, and Committee members. Danish Ali, Girdhari Yadav and other opposition MPs tried to accuse the committee and walked out... The committee will sit and decide the further action,” PTI quoted Sonkar as saying.