“The party stands with Mahua….” Mamata Banerjee condemns Moitra's expulsion, calls it BJP's 'vendetta politics'

Trinamool Congress Supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condemned the expulsion of Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra from the Lok Sabha on Friday over the alleged ‘cash-for-query’ allegations leveled against her by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. She labeled the act of Moitra’s removal as a clear instance of "vendetta politics" orchestrated by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"It is a shame for parliamentary democracy. We condemn the way Mahua Moitra was expelled, the party stands with her. BJP can't defeat us in the election, so they have resorted to vendetta politics. It is a sad day and the betrayal of Indian parliamentary democracy," said the TMC supremo. The West Bengal CM asserted that Moitra would ‘win the battle’ and emerge victorious in the elections, and ‘the people will give a befitting reply to the BJP.’

The West Bengal Chief Minister also alleged that Mahua was denied time to defend herself before the Parliament. She further stated BJP has used its strength in the Parliament to corner the Opposition. “She will return to Parliament with a bigger mandate. The BJP thinks the party can do whatever it wants as they have a brute majority. They must keep in mind that a day might come when they may not be in power,” said Mamata Banerjee. Despite several leaders of the opposition pleading with the Speaker to grant Mahua Moitra a few minutes to speak in her defense, she was not afforded the chance to present her side of the story before the voting took place.

The Ethics Committee’s report on the alleged ‘cash-for-query’ scam was tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday. The panel's chief, BJP MP Vijay Sonkar, presented the report that recommends the expulsion of TMC MP Mahua Moitra in connection to the charges leveled against her by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. The majority of the House voted against the TMC MP and for the Ethics Committee’s recommendation, and that led to her expulsion from the Parliament.