'Certain CBI Will Be Sent To Harass Me Now': Mahua Moitra After Lok Sabha Expulsion

The TMC MP, aged 49, asserted her determination to fight against perceived injustices both inside and outside Parliament over the next three decades.

After her expulsion from the Lok Sabha, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra on Friday voiced concerns about potential "harassment" by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Moitra said, "Tomorrow the CBI will be sent to my house, I am sure. They will harass me for the next six months". The TMC MP, aged 49, asserted her determination to fight against perceived injustices both inside and outside Parliament over the next three decades.

Moitra addressed the reasons for her expulsion, emphasising that the recommendation was solely based on the accusation that she shared her Lok Sabha login credentials. She criticised the lack of rules governing login sharing and emphasised the importance of MPs in relaying citizen questions to Parliament.

"Recommendation of expulsion is solely on the ground that I shared my Lok Sabha login credentials. There are no rules whatsoever to govern the sharing of logins. As the hearing of the Ethics Committee demonstrates, all of us MPs are conveyor belts to get questions from citizens, the public, and to voice that in Parliament," she said.

Moitra stated in her response to the Modi government's actions that the expulsion was intended to silence her on the Adani issue. She accused the government of acting in haste and abusing due process, citing "Mr Adani's importance to the administration".

While facing allegations of jeopardising national security by sharing login credentials, Moitra cited the Adani Group's activities, which included foreign investments and acquisitions of ports and airports throughout the country.

Moitra compared her expulsion to being judged by a "kangaroo court," claiming that the parliamentary panel was being used by the government to subdue the opposition. She claimed in her speech that she had been found guilty of violating a code of ethics that she claimed did not exist, and that no evidence of cash or gifts had been presented against her.

In the "cash-for-query" case, the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee recommended Moitra's expulsion. Moitra, flanked by opposition leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, criticised the handling of the situation in the 17th Lok Sabha following her removal from the House.

She described the expulsion as part of a witch-hunt against her, a first-time MP from a border constituency near Bangladesh with no political ancestors. The government then moved a motion to expel her, calling her continued membership in Parliament "untenable".