India: Former MP Mahua Moitra moves Supreme Court against her expulsion from parliament

India's Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra on Monday (Dec 11) moved Supreme Court of India against her recent expulsion from the Indian Parliament. Moitra was expelled from Lok Sabha, the lower chamber of Indian parliament, on December 8, after parliament's ethics committee recommended such action after finding her guilty of accepting gifts from a businessman in order to further his interests.

On December 8, during the heated debate in the parliament during which Moitra claimed she was not allowed to speak, India's Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi tabled motion to expel the former TMC MP for 'unethical conduct'. The motion was adopted by a voice vote.

Video | Lok Sabha expels Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra over cash for query case

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Moitra had reacted sharply to her expulsion and alleged that the parliamentary committee was being weaponised by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Before her expulsion, Indian parliament's ethics committee had found Moitra guilty of "unethical conduct" and contempt of the House since she shared credentials of Lok Sabha members' portal with unauthorised people.

The parliamentary committee has also made recommendations that due to Moitra's "highly objectionable, unethical, heinous and criminal conduct", an intense, legal and institutional inquiry be initiated by the government in a time-bound manner.

Joshi's motion had said that Moitra's “conduct has further been found to be unbecoming as an MP for accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest, which is a serious misdemeanour and highly deplorable conduct” on her part.

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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey had filed the initial complaint against Moitra. Dubey had alleged, on the basis of complaint filed by Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, that Moitra had received gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange of asking questions in the parliament to mount attack on industrialist Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

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Hiranandani submitted an affidavit to the ethics committee and said on October 19 that Moitra had given him her credentials for Lok Sabha members' website.

(With inputs from agencies)