New Delhi: The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha will recommend the expulsion of Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Mahua Moitra from the Lower House for allegedly sharing her login credentials with a businessman based outside India, which the panel found wrong. Officials aware of the incident said on Wednesday that this was unethical conduct.
The officials cited above said the panel would also suggest that a thorough institutional and legal investigation be conducted in a timely manner to investigate criminal charges in the matter.
The 500-page draft report, which was circulated among members of the 15-member panel on Wednesday evening, will be adopted in a tumultuous meeting on Thursday.
After this, the report will be tabled in the Lok Sabha on the first day of the winter session, which is likely to begin from December 4.
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Officials aware of the matter said the government will move a resolution in the House on the same day to expel Moitra, a first-time MLA from Krishnanagar in West Bengal, for the remaining term of the 17th Lok Sabha.
The panel will also ask Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to take some action against Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) MP Danish Ali, who is a member of the Ethics Committee, for allegedly distorting the intention of the Speaker’s questions to Moitra. Had presented and allegedly instigated. Public sentiments against the panel
Ali was one of the five opposition MPs who walked out of the panel proceedings along with Moitra on November 2, accusing the Speaker of asking inappropriate and personal questions.
The officials said the report has identified a mistake made by Moitra, namely sharing the MP’s login credentials with businessman Darshan Hiranandani, who confirmed the allegations in a separate affidavit before the panel.
“MPs are expected not to share their login details, including passwords, with others. Moitra violated that norm and also allowed a businessman to post questions of his own interest,” said a senior functionary, requesting anonymity.
Moitra in her statement had admitted that she had shared her login details with Hiranandani, but argued that most MPs share their login details with their staff.
The officials cited above also pointed out that the Government of India (GoI) email policy issued in 2014 held the user responsible for any data or e-mail transmitted using the Government of India e-mail system. “All e-mail/data sent through the mail server is the sole responsibility of the account owning user. “Password sharing is prohibited,” the policy states.
This policy is applicable to MPs as they use a sensitive portal built and managed by the National Informatics Center for Parliament.
The officials quoted above said the panel would also recommend further investigation into the criminal aspects of the case.
According to officials, the panel will recommend that the government conduct a thorough institutional and legal investigation through an appropriate body in a time-bound manner to investigate criminal charges in this matter.
In the 2005 Cash for Query case, the Rajya Sabha ethics panel, which investigated the allegations against Chhatrapal Singh Lodha and other accused, had made a similar recommendation, besides recommending their removal, officials said. “During the investigation of this matter, a scandalous situation came to light, namely the role of corrupt middlemen, personal secretaries/personal assistants of members, officials working in parliamentary party offices, who have been instrumental in the arrangement. Secret journalists held meetings with MPs and acted as intermediaries in shady deals. Their misdeeds not only prima facie violate the law, but have the potential to destroy the system from within. The committee will suggest that after taking legal advice, the concerned authorities may take action against them under law so that the rot can be stopped,” the Rajya Sabha panel had recommended at that time.
On 12 December 2005, a sting operation by online site Cobrapost showed 11 MPs taking cash in exchange for raising questions in Parliament. On 24 December 2005, Parliament voted to expel 11 MPs. Pranab Mukherjee, leader of the Lok Sabha at the time, moved a motion to expel the MPs, while then PM Manmohan Singh did the same in the Rajya Sabha.
A former Lok Sabha official said the ethics panel is not competent to initiate criminal investigations. Therefore, a government agency will have to be involved, the official said.
A former Lok Sabha official said that the ethics panel is not equipped to launch a criminal investigation. Therefore, a government agency has to be involved, the official added.
The row began after BJP lawmaker Nishikant Dubey wrote to Birla three weeks ago on the basis of a complaint by lawyer Jai Anant Dehradai, who alleged Moitra accepted money and favours to ask questions in Parliament. Moitra is accused of giving direct access to Hiranandani to post questions on the Lok Sabha portal on her behalf and receiving expensive gifts from the businessman, who also allegedly underwrote her bungalow renovations and paid for her foreign trips.
Moitra denied the charges that she received gifts, and asked other parliamentarians if they never shared their passwords.
The ethics panel held two meetings on September 26 and October 2. Dubey and Dehadrai, the two complainants, deposed in the first meeting. Moitra deposed in the second meeting but walked out of it during her cross-examination, accusing chairman Vinod Sonkar of asking “filthy and personal questions”. Sonkar later alleged that Moitra used anger to deflect legitimate questions, and used unparliamentary language against the panel and the chair.
The meeting on Thursday is expected to be a stormy affair as Opposition members are set to oppose the draft report. The 15-member panel has six Opposition members, and the remaining MPs are from the ruling dispensation.
