In her letter, Moitra alleged that Advocate Dehadrai had provided no documentary evidence to back his allegations in either his written complaint and neither could he provide any evidence in his oral hearing.
New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra said Tuesday that she will appear before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on November 2 in the ‘cash-for-query’ case but sought to “cross-examine” advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai and businessman Darshan Hiranandani over their allegations. The ‘cash-for-query’ case pertains to the allegations by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey that Mahua Moitra took bribes in the form of “cash” and “gifts” from tycoon Darshan Hiranandani to question the Adani Group in her capacity as a Member of Parliament, triggering a political storm.
The TMC Lok Sabha MP on Wednesday made her letter to the Ethics Committee Chairman and BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar public. Posting the two-page letter on her X handle, Moitra said, “Since the Since Ethics Committee deemed it fit to release my summons to the media I think it is important I too release my letter to the Committee before my “hearing” tomorrow.”
In her letter, Moitra alleged that Advocate Dehadrai had provided no documentary evidence to back his allegations in either his written complaint and neither could he provide any evidence in his oral hearing.
“In keeping with the principles of natural justice I wish to exercise my right to cross-examine Dehadrai,” she wrote in her letter to the Committee.
“In light of the seriousness of the allegations, it is imperative that the alleged ‘bribe-giver’ Darshan Hiranandani, who has given a ‘Suo-Motu’ affidavit to the Committee with scant details and no documentary evidence whatsoever, be called to depose before the Committee and provide the said evidence in the form of a documented itemised inventory with amounts, date etc” she further wrote.
Since Ethics Committee deemed it fit to release my summons to the media I think it is important I too release my letter to the Committee before my “hearing” tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/A8MwFRsImk
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) November 1, 2023
“I wish to place on record that in keeping with the principles of natural Justice I wish to exercise my right to cross-examine Hiranandani,” she added. Moitra had asked the Committee to answer in writing and place on record their decision to either allow or disallow such cross-examination.
The TMC MP also raised concerns over the ‘double-standards’ of the Ethics Committee and highlighted that the panel is adopting a different approach in the case of BJP MP Ramesh Biduri, who she says has a very serious complaint of hate speech.
She further said that the parliamentary committees do not have criminal jurisdiction and have no mandate to investigate alleged criminality. ” This can only be done by law enforcement agencies. This check was specifically created by our nation’s founders to prevent the slightest misuse of committees by governments enjoying a brute majority in parliament,” Ms Moitra said in a letter to the ethics committee chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar.
Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, on whose complaint to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) the entire case rests, was cross-examined by the ethics committee on October 26, while BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who led the call to investigate the allegation that Moitra gave her parliament login ID to the businessman, was allowed to explain his allegations.