New Delhi

Mahua Moitra, a lawmaker from the east Indian state of West Bengal, was on Friday (Dec 8) expelled from the lower house of parliament Lok Sabha for 'unethical conduct' in the so-called 'cash-for-query' case. 

Advertisment

Announcing her expulsion, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said: "This House accepts the conclusions of the Committee that MP Mahua Moitra's conduct was immoral and indecent as an MP. So, it is not appropriate for her to continue as an MP." 

The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee tabled its report recommending Moitra's expulsion early on Friday and within hours, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP was shown the door. 

TMC and other parties backing Moitra argued that she was not given a chance to plead innocence in the house. The TMC had requested the speaker to allow Moitra to speak on the party's behalf during the debate.

Advertisment

Explaining his decision to not give Moitra an opportunity to speak for herself in the house, Birla said he followed the precedent set by former speakers Somnath Chatterjee and Pranab Mukherjee. 

"Somnath Chatterjee had said that members against whom there are accusations are given ample time to speak before the Committee. This House has the tradition that the traditions followed by the previous Speakers are always further followed by the next Speakers," he said. 

Also read | Explained | Mahua Moitra's cash-for-query row: How TMC MP became the eye of the storm

Advertisment

Ethics panel broke every rule: Moitra 

Speaking to media after her expulsion, Moitra maintained there was no 'evidence' that could prove her involvement in the case. 

“There was no evidence of any cash, any gifts anywhere. The recommendation of expulsion was solely based on the complaint that I shared my login. But there is no rule whatsoever in this regard,” a visibly furious Moitra told reporters outside the parliament. 

"Ironically, the ethics committee which was set up to serve as a moral compass for members, instead has been abused today to do exactly what it was never meant to do - which is to bulldoze the Opposition and become another weapon to 'thok do' (blast) us into submission. This committee and the report have broken every rule in the book," she added. 

×

What is the cash-for-query controversy?

Moitra, one of the prominent voices in the opposition, was accused by her former friend and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai and Nishikant Dubey - a lawmaker from PM Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party — of having accepted money and expensive gifts in return for asking a certain set of questions in Lok Sabha.

Later, Dubey approached Birla for Moitra's expulsion and the case was handed to the ethics committee which was tasked to investigate the truth behind the allegations. 

Notably, Moitra accepted in front of the committee that she shared her online credentials with a businessman friend to allow submission of her pre-approved questions which she later intended to ask in Lok Sabha.

Also read | India: TMC MP Mahua Moitra admits sharing Parliament login credentials with businessman friend

The committee investigating the allegations adopted its 500-page report last month. The draft report adopted by 6:4 majority in the panel showed that Moitra visited the UAE four times from between 2019 to 2023 while her login was accessed several times. 

According to reports, the committee observed that not only Moitra breached the parliamentary code of ethics but she also compromised the country's national security. 

(With inputs from agencies)