NEW DELHI: Mahua Moitra and the opposition members of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee walked out of the panel's meeting held on Thursday to probe the cash-for-query charges against the Trinamool MP. The opposition members of the panel accused the chairperson of asking personal, unethical questions to Mahua Moitra. They also questioned the manner in which the meeting was conducted.
Moitra has been accused of asking questions, which were keyed in through her parliamentary account, at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in return for bribes and favours from the Dubai-based scion of a well-known business family.
"We found Lok Sabha Ethics Committee chairperson' questions to TMC MP Mahua Moitra undignified, unethical," said Congress member N Uttam Kumar Reddy.
Janata Dal (United) MP Giridhari Yadav said, "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."
"The whole line of questioning made it seem that he (Parliament Ethics Committee Chairman) was 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? Where are you meeting? Can you give us your phone records? ... There is no evidence of any cash transfer," Reddy added.
Meanwhile, Lok Sabha ethics committee head Vinod Sonkar alleged that the opposition members "behaved unethically, boycotted to detract from allegations against Mahua Moitra".
"Objectionable words were used against panel's functioning and me," Sonkar said.
Shortly after Moitra and other leaders stormed out of the meeting, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, in a media briefing, said the TMC leader tried to create wrong narrative against him. Dubey also claimed that the opposition is "perturbed that ethics panel is headed by an OBC MP".
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