BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's "bribe-for-query" complaint against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has been sent to the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha by speaker Om Birla. Dubey alleged that Moitra of took "bribes" from a businessman to ask questions in Parliament and urged Birla to constitute an "inquiry committee" to look into the charges against her.
The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha is chaired by BJP member Vinod Kumar Sonkar.
On Sunday, Dubey wrote to Birla under the subject "Re-emergence of nasty 'Cash for Query' in Parliament, Direct involvement of Smt. Mahua Moitra, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) for serious 'Breach of Privilege', 'Contempt of the House' and a 'Criminal Offence' under Section 120-A of IPC", PTI reported.
Citing a letter he has received from an advocate, Dubey said the lawyer has shared "irrefutable" evidence of bribes exchanged between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and a businessman.
In his letter, he said, 50 of 61 questions she asked in Lok Sabha till recently were focused on the Adani Group, the business conglomerate which the TMC MP has often accused of malpractices, more so after it was at the receiving end of a critical report of short-selling from Hindenburg.
Dubey stated that he has received a letter from Jai Anant Dehadrai, a lawyer, in which he has revealed indisputable proof of bribes exchanged between Moitra and Darshan Hiranandani, a well-known business tycoon, to ask questions in Parliament in exchange for 'cash' and 'gifts'.
"It appeared that the representationist, Dehadrai has made elaborate and painstaking research on the basis of which he has concluded that quite recently, Moitra asked approximately 50 questions in Parliament of the total 61 posted by her, which shockingly pertain to the protect the business interests of Darshan Hiranandani and his company," the BJP MP's letter read.
"The representationist has also forwarded all the relevant papers/documents in support of his information which I am enclosing along with my instant letter," he claimed.
"After having meticulously gone through all the papers or documents, there is not an iota of doubt about a criminal conspiracy hatched by Moitra, Member of Parliament to garner and protect the business interests of Hiranandani - by asking Parliamentary Questions, which is reminiscent of 'Cash for Query' episode of 12 December, 2005. All these nefarious and abhorable acts of Moitra is a clear case of 'Breach of Privilege', 'Contempt of the House' and also a criminal offence under Section 120-A of the Indian Penal Code," he said.