Congress leader stands by TMC MP Mahua Moitra; Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury writes to LS Speaker ahead of Ethics panel tabling report, calling ‘Expulsion an extremely serious punishment’

In what may lead to a stormy winter session, the Ethics Committee report proposing the expulsion of TMC MP Mahua Moitra from parliament over the alleged ‘cash for query’ controversy will be tabled in Lok Sabha on December 4, the first day of the session. Meanwhile, Congress leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has shot off a letter to Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla on Saturday, reminding him expulsion was an “extremely serious punishment”. Congress has thrown its support for Moitra and questioned if the Ethics committee could establish any money trail between Moitra and the businessman at whose behest she had allegedly raised questions.

In the four-page letter, Chowdhury has demanded a “relook, reviewing and recasting” of “the rules and processes that relate to the functioning of parliamentary committees that are primarily concerned with the rights of Members of Lok Sabha viz, panels like the Privileges Committee and the Ethics Committee”. He said there was no “clear-cut demarcation in the roles envisaged for the two committees, more so, in the matter of exercising penal powers”. He has pointed out that there was no clear definition of “unethical conduct” for the MPs and a “code of conduct” was not yet formulated, contesting the Ethics committee report that recommended the expulsion of Mahua Moitra on grounds of “unethical conduct” and for allegedly committing “serious misdemeanours”. Ethics Committee inquired into the “cash-for-query” allegations leveled by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey against Moitra. Moitra has admitted to having shared her parliament login credentials with a businessman to post her questions or post questions on her behalf and without any conflict of interest.

“It is not clear whether the well-established procedure was followed and an irrefutable money trail has been established in case of the complaint or allegation against Moitra. The Dubai-based Businessman who purportedly had access to the “log-in credentials” of Moitra to the Lok Sabha Portal and was placing Questions on her behalf was, as per reports, possibly not called by the Committee for deposing,” Chowdhury wrote in his letter to the speaker. He further added “It is also not clearly known as to why the Businessman chose to turn against the Member despite his interests apparently being served by way of posing questions by using the Log-in credentials. Accepting gifts and giving gifts, which may appear to be expensive depending on the yardstick applied is a common social practice and it would be extremely difficult to link or attribute accepting gifts to be a money trail for deriving favours,”

Nishikant Dubey had cited the 2005 cash-for-query scandal, in which 10 Lok Sabha members were expelled for receiving cash to ask questions in Parliament. "The 2005 case as well as the case of HD Mudgal that dates back to 1951 i.e., the days of the Provisional Parliament are fundamentally different not only in regard to the charges involved, but mainly on account of the 'mode' or process of examining and reporting and the 'significance of the evidence'," Choudhary wrote in the letter in response to Dubey.

He also referred to the fact that prior to Moitra’s case, “the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha has dealt with a miniscule number of cases which mainly pertained to purported acts of deviation from the general norms of conduct with the punitive action recommended being confined to: admonition, reprimand and suspension from the Sittings of the House for a specified period.”

While drawing attention to media reports on the Ethic Committee recommendations, Chowdhury said “it would, perhaps be the first such recommendation of the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha. Expulsion from Parliament, you will agree Sir, is an extremely serious punishment and has very wide ramifications.”​​