New Delhi:

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has moved the Supreme Court against the directives by the Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand governments that eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route must display the names of their owners.

In her plea before the top court, Ms Moitra has sought a stay on the orders passed by the two state governments saying such directives aggravate discord between communities.

The plea is yet to be listed for hearing.

The TMC leader said by forcing the disclosure of the names of proprietors and even those of their staff, on the stated ground of respecting pilgrims’ dietary choices, “makes it clear that dietary choices is a pretext, or a proxy, for the compelled disclosure of personal — and, in this case, religious — identity”, the plea said.

The plea alleged that this has been done to create a socially-enforced economic boycott on Muslim shop owners and workers, and the loss of their livelihoods.

“Since June 2023, the Respondent No. 1 (State of UP) continued to empower and embolden the anti-social elements by actively targeting Muslim owned businesses based on fabricated and malicious information circulated by the anti-social elements.

“The Respondent No. 1, through acts of commission and omission, created conditions for the complete economic boycott of Muslim minorities on the pretext of their ‘impure’ dietary choices,” the petition said.

On Monday, the Supreme COURT is scheduled to hear a plea against the Uttar Pradesh government’s controversial order. A bench of justices Hrishikesh Roy and S V N Bhatti is likely to hear the plea filed by NGO Association of Protection of Civil Rights.

Meanwhile, extensive arrangements have been made across several states for the Kanwar Yatra that starts on Monday with the beginning of the Sawan month of the Hindu calendar during which lakhs of Shiva devotees carry holy water from the Ganges in Haridwar to their homes while offering it at Shiva temples on their way.

Days after the Muzaffarnagar police asked all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route to display their owners’ names, the Uttar Pradesh government on Friday extended the controversial order across the state.

The order issued by the Muzaffarnagar police earlier this week has been slammed by opposition parties and some members of the ruling NDA at the Centre, who say it targets Muslim traders.

Authorities in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand on Sunday said they have made special arrangements to ensure a smooth yatra and extensive security measures are in place.

Spanning from July 22 to August 19, this special period for the worship of Lord Shiva will include five Mondays. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The National Commission for Women (NCW) on Friday said it has initiated legal action against Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra for her remarks against its chairperson Rekha Sharma.

This came a day after the TMC, commenting on a video posted on X showing the NCW chairperson’s arrival at the site of a stampede that recently took place in Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras, wrote, “She is too busy holding up her boss’s pajamas”.

The NCW in a statement said that a formal complaint has been filed with the Delhi Police and a letter has been sent to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla at the Parliament stating that Ms Moitra’s remarks are condemnable in strongest possible words and being a Member of Parliament, it is unbecoming of her stature.

Reacting to the same, Ms Moitra took a jibe at the NCW and posted on X, “Come on @DelhiPolice please take action immediately on these suo moto orders. Am in Nadia in case you need me in the next 3 days to make a quick arrest. I Can Hold My Own Umbrella”.

In the letter to Mr Birla, the NCW has urged the speaker of the Lok Sabha to look into the matter and take appropriate action against Ms Moitra.

“These crude remarks are not only outrageous but also a severe violation of a woman’s right to dignity,” the NCW said.

While in the letter to the Delhi police, the NCW said upon careful consideration, the Commission said it has has determined that Ms Moitra’s remarks fall under Section 79 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023.

The NCW demanded registration of FIR against Ms Moitra. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday said she will appear before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on November 2 but also expressed her desire to cross-examine businessman Darshan Hiranandani over the allegations made against her in the cash-for-query case.

Ms Moitra had requested a hearing date after November 5 to accommodate her existing commitments but was denied an extension beyond November 2.

Moitra on Tuesday questioned whether the Ethics Committee is the appropriate forum to examine allegations of alleged criminality.

She pointed out that parliamentary committees lack criminal jurisdiction and emphasised the importance of involving law enforcement agencies in such cases.

“While registering my protest, I wish to inform you that I will respect the summons and appear before the Committee on November 2, 2023 at 11 am,” she said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Apple on Tuesday responded to claims by opposition MPs – including the Congress’ Shashi Tharoor and Priyanka Chaturvedi of the Shiv Sena (UBT) – of messages warning them of “state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise” their iPhones.  Apple said it “does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker”.

Apple also explained state-sponsored attackers tend to be “very well-funded and sophisticated, and their attacks evolve over time. Detecting such attacks relies on threat intelligence signals that are often imperfect and incomplete. It’s possible that some Apple threat notifications may be false alarms, or that some attacks are not detected. We are unable to provide information about what causes us to issue threat notifications, as that may help state-sponsored attackers adapt their behavior to evade detection in the future.”

Sources told NDTV three people in Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s office received similar messages.

Opposition MPs Claim iPhone “Threat” Alert

Earlier today the above MPs all posted screenshots of the messages they received. Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, who also received this message, claimed Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav and the Aam Aadmi Party’s Raghav Chadha, as well as CPM General Secretary Sitaram Yechury and the Congress’ Pawan Khera were also warned of hacking attempts.

Ms Chaturvedi wrote: “Wonder who? Shame on you…” and “cc-ed” Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Wonder who? Shame on you.
Cc: @HMOIndia for your kind attention pic.twitter.com/COUJyisRDk

— Priyanka Chaturvedi (@priyankac19) October 30, 2023

Ms Chaturvedi also wrote to Mr Shah calling for an urgent inquiry. “As an Indian citizen, before being a Member of Parliament, I believe it is a violation of my fundamental rights… as a vocal critic of certain government activities, I am deeply troubled by these alerts warning about a state-sponsored attack…” The Sena leader said “this raises serious questions about our agencies being directed toward targeting the opposition instead of those who pose a threat to our nation”.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said he had “verified” the email from threat-notifications@apple.com, and threw in a jibe at the government. “Glad to keep underemployed officials busy at the expenses of taxpayers like me! Nothing more important to do?”

Received from an Apple ID, threat-notifications@apple.com, which I have verified. Authenticity confirmed. Glad to keep underemployed officials busy at the expenses of taxpayers like me! Nothing more important to do?@PMOIndia@INCIndia@kharge@RahulGandhipic.twitter.com/5zyuoFmaIa

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) October 31, 2023

Like several of the other MPs, Mr Tharoor tagged the offices of Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and called for an investigation into the alleged hacking bid. Another Congress leader, Pawan Khera, was more direct in his attack on the government, sharing a screenshot of the message from his phone and writing, “Dear Modi sarkar, why are you doing this?”

AAP Rajya Sabha MP Chadha posted a long note criticising the alleged hacking bid as an attack on the “democratic interests” and people of the country. “…Every Indian needs to be worried. Because today it is me, tomorrow it could be YOU,” he added.

Early this morning I received a concerning notification from Apple, warning me about a potential state-sponsored spyware attack on my phone. The notification states that, “If your device is compromised by a state-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your… pic.twitter.com/JrVD9Zh9im

— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) October 31, 2023

Apple iPhone “Threat” Notification

The message in question says: “Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID.”

“These attackers are likely targeting you individually because of who you are or what you do. If your device is compromised state-sponsored attacker, they may be able to remotely access your sensitive data, communications, or even the camera and microphone,” Apple While it’s possible this is a false alarm, please take this warning seriously.”

BJP’s Malviya Hits Back

The ruling BJP’s IT Cell boss, Amit Malviya, was swift to respond and hit out at the “usual suspects”.

“Usual suspects raising a storm over ‘state-sponsored’ attack and pretending to be martyrs is all good…”

Usual suspects raising a storm over ‘state sponsored’ attack and pretending to be martyrs is all good… But this hullabaloo, in all probability, like in the past, will end up as damp squib!

Why not wait for Apple to clarify? Or is it too much to let go an opportunity to outrage?

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) October 31, 2023

“But this hullabaloo, in all probability, like in the past, will end up as damp squib! Why not wait for Apple to clarify? Or is it too much to let go an opportunity to outrage?” he posted on X.

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New Delhi:

In a fresh salvo, BJP has hit out at Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra for not participating in the ethics committee probe into bribery allegations against her and instead giving TV interviews.

“Instead of going to Ethics Committee, instead of resigning until the probe is over now Mahua Moitra has all the time in the world to give TV interviews & prejudice the proceedings,” BJP spokesperson  Shehzad Poonawalla said.

The Ethics Committee is currently probing allegations against Ms Moitra that she allowed businessman Darshan Hiranandani to access her parliamentary login to post questions directly for Lok Sabha.

The Lok Sabha MP has been accused of taking money to ask questions in parliament, on behalf of the businessman, allegedly designed to target the government and the Adani Group.

In an interview, Mahua Moitra on Friday admitted that she let Mr Hiranandani access to her Lok Sabha account to post questions, but claimed that the questions were hers.

She denied allegations of taking bribes from Mr Hiranandani and demanded that she be given the chance to cross-examine him, in an interview with India Today.

Mr Poonawalla, reacting to Ms Moitra’s interview said, “This is a confession of an egregious action! Whatever spin she may put about OTP, etc it doesn’t cut any ice.”

Chori & then seena zori = Mahua Moitra

Instead of going to Ethics Committee, instead of resigning until probe is over now Mahua Moitra has all the time in the world to give TV interviews & prejudice the proceedings !

Anyway she now admits on tv, that she did gave her…

— Shehzad Jai Hind (@Shehzad_Ind) October 29, 2023

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Delhi-based lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai have already recorded their statements and presented evidence against the Trinamool MP to the ethics panel.

The panel has said it will call “no more witnesses” after hearing Mahua Moitra, who has been summoned on November 2, and submit its report at the beginning of November.

Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh:

Union Minister Anurag Thakur has targeted TMC MP Mahua Moitra over ‘Cash-for-Query’ saying, “Even if she does not accept her mistakes, then too, the truth cannot be hidden.”

“If the Parliamentary Committee has summoned someone, then they should go and make their point. Even if she does not accept her mistakes, then too, the truth cannot be hidden,” he said.

His statement comes after Mahua Moitra’s response to the summons by the Parliament Ethics Committee.

Ms Moitra has been summoned by Ethics Committee of Parliament on November 2.

However, the TMC MP took to her X account on Friday and said, “I look forward to deposing (before the Ethics Committee of Parliament) immediately after my pre-scheduled constituency programmes end on November 4.”

In her letter to the Ehics Committee the TMC MP asked for permission to cross question Darshan Hiranandani.

Meanwhile Union Minister Anurag Thakur said this is a matter of “national security” and added that “an inquiry and appropriate action should be taken quickly”.

“The country wants to know how the Member of Parliament was sold… This is a matter of concern. It is a matter of national security and corruption… There should be an inquiry and appropriate action should be taken quickly,” he said.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Saturday alleged that attempts are being made to influence the witness amid the ‘Cash-for-Query’ row and urged the Lok Sabha speaker to take action.

“According to the information, Darshan Hiranandani and Dubai Didi (MP Mahua Moitra) are in touch. An attempt is being made to influence the witness @loksabhaspeaker to take action,” Nishikant Dubey said in a post on X.

Further, comparing TMC MP Mahua Moitra with former Congress MP Raja Ram Pal amid the ‘Cash-for-Query ‘row, the BJP MP said that the former was poor while Moitra was “friends with the rich”.

“There is a similarity between Mahua ji and Raja Ram Pal ji, who asked questions about money and was expelled from Parliament during the Congress rule in 2005. Pal ji was fighting against corruption of Reliance, hence he was expelled, Mahua ji Adani. Is this why you are fighting?” the BJP MP said in a post in Hindi on X.

Sharing a link that includes a letter dated back to December 2005, which was written by Raja Ram Pal to the Prime Minister’s Office about the corrupt practices of the then Power Ministry officials, Nishikant Dubey, who initially levelled the cash-for-query allegation against the TMC MP, urged everyone to read the letter to “know the nature of Mahua” “.

“Read Raja Ram Pal ji’s letter and compare that with Mahua’s nature and signature. The BSP Member of Parliament Raja Ram Pal was regularly writing to the Prime Minister….Raja Ram Pal ji speaks Hindi, is poor. She is a thief, Mahua ji speaks English, she is friends with the rich, is she honest?” he added.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The Ethics Committee of the Parliament, which is probing allegations that Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra shared her parliamentary login credentials with a businessman, has summoned her on November 2 after she sought a fresh date.

The fresh date came a day after Ms Moitra admitted to a television channel to letting businessman Darshan Hiranandani use her Lok Sabha login credentials to post questions that she claimed were hers.

Ms Moitra was earlier asked to depose before the panel on October 31. However, she sought a fresh date for her appearance stating that her October 31 summon was released to the media before the official letter was mailed to her in the evening.

“Chairman, Ethics Comm announced my 31/10 summons on live TV way before official letter emailed to me at 19:20 hrs. All complaints and suo moto affidavits also released to media,” she had said.

The Trinamool MP had said she would appear before the committee immediately after the pre-scheduled programmes in her constituency end on November 4.

Ms Moitra yesterday said the only things she had received from Darshan Hiranandani, the CEO of the Hiranandani Group, as gifts were “one scarf, some lipsticks, and other makeup items including eye shadow”.

In an interview to India Today, she also admitted that he allowed him to use her Lok Sabha login credentials, but denied the allegations that she took bribes from him. She also demanded that she be given the chance to cross-examine him.

Her remarks come amid allegations that she received gifts from Mr Hiranandani in exchange for asking questions in Parliament.

The Ethics Committee has now summoned her to present her defence on November 2.

Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey have already recorded their statements before the Ethics Committee.

New Delhi:

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Saturday alleged that attempts are being made to influence the witness amid the ‘Cash-for-Query’ row and urged the Lok Sabha speaker to take action.

“According to the information, Darshan Hiranandani and Dubai Didi (MP Mahua Moitra) are in touch. An attempt is being made to influence the witness @loksabhaspeaker to take action,” Nishikant Dubey said in a post on X.

Further, comparing TMC MP Mahua Moitra with former Congress MP Raja Ram Pal amid the ‘Cash-for-Query ‘row, the BJP MP said that the former was poor while Moitra was “friends with the rich”.

“There is a similarity between Mahua ji and Raja Ram Pal ji, who asked questions about money and was expelled from Parliament during the Congress rule in 2005. Pal ji was fighting against corruption of Reliance, hence he was expelled, Mahua ji Adani. Is this why you are fighting?” the BJP MP said in a post in Hindi on X.

सूचना के अनुसार दर्शन हीरानंदानी व दुबई दीदी( सांसद) सम्पर्क में हैं । गवाह को प्रभावित करने की कोशिश चल रही है @loksabhaspeaker को कारवाई करनी चाहिए

— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) October 28, 2023

Sharing a link that includes a letter dated back to December 2005, which was written by Raja Ram Pal to the Prime Minister’s Office about the corrupt practices of the then Power Ministry officials, Nishikant Dubey, who initially levelled the cash-for-query allegation against the TMC MP, urged everyone to read the letter to “know the nature of Mahua” and named her a “thief”.

“Read Raja Ram Pal ji’s letter and compare that with Mahua’s nature and signature. The BSP Member of Parliament Raja Ram Pal was regularly writing to the Prime Minister….Raja Ram Pal ji speaks Hindi, is poor. She is a thief, Mahua ji speaks English, she is friends with the rich, is she honest?” he added.

Meanwhile, Mahua Moitra has sought more time to appear before the Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha. She has been summoned to appear on October 31 over allegations against her in the ‘Cash-for-Query’ scandal.

The TMC MP also sought to question the businessman at the centre of the alleged scandal, Darshan Hiranandani.

“It is imperative that I am allowed my right to cross examine Hiranandani, it is also imperative that he appear before the committee and provide a detailed verified list of alleged gifts and favours he allegedly provide to me” she said in her letter to Vinod Sonkar, Chairman of the Parliament Ethics Committee.

On Thursday, Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai appeared before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee to submit oral evidence on their allegations.

The BJP MP earlier wrote to the Lok Sabha Speaker, alleging the involvement of Mahua Moitra in the ‘cash for query’ scandal.

He claimed that he held evidence as shared by Advocate Dehadrai, which allegedly corroborates the charges against the TMC MP.

In response to Dubey’s letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Trinamool MP had said she would welcome a probe by the Speaker after he had dealt with alleged breaches of privilege by other BJP MPs.

New Delhi:

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Friday said that she will not appear before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee, which is probing the “cash-for query” allegations on October 31 because she has prior commitments. She added, however, that she was “looking forward” to deposing before the committee any time after November 5 and said it was “imperative” and in the interest “of natural justice” that she be allowed to cross-examine businessman Darshan Hiranandani, who has levelled a series of allegations against her. 

In an affidavit, Mr Hiranandani had claimed that Ms Moitra had given him her parliament login ID to frame questions on the Adani Group, which she felt was the “only way” to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also claimed that she had made demands for “various favours” and he had gifted her expensive luxury items. 

In a letter to BJP MP Vinod Sonkar, who is the chairman of the Ethics Committee, that she posted on X, formerly Twitter, Ms Moitra said she was eagerly looking forward to physically attending and presenting her defence against the “slanderous charges” levelled against her at the next date provided by the committee. 

In its hearing on Thursday, the committee had recorded the statements of BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who had filed a complaint against Ms Moitra before the Lok Sabha Speaker, and Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, on whose letter the complaint was based. 

Ms Moitra pointed out that few details were available on the gifts Mr Hiranandani had allegedly given her and said she should be allowed to cross-examine him. 

“His affidavit, available in the public domain, is extremely scant on detail and provides no actual inventory of what he has allegedly given me. Given the seriousness of the allegations and in keeping with the principles of natural justice, it is imperative that I am allowed to exercise my right to cross-examine Shri Hiranandani,” she said.

Stressing on the need for the committee to depose Mr Hiranandani, the Trinamool MP said that not doing so would be like holding a “kangaroo court”. 

“It is also imperative that he appear before the committee and provide a detailed verified list of the alleged gifts & favours he allegedly provided to me. I wish to place on record that any enquiry without the oral evidence of Shri Hiranandani will be incomplete, unfair and akin to holding a proverbial ‘kangaroo court’ and that he too will need to be called to depose before the Committee before it prepares its final report,” she wrote.

‘Announced On TV’

In her post with the letter, Ms Moitra claimed that Mr Sonkar had announced her October 31 summons on live TV long before the official letter was mailed to her. 

“Chairman, Ethics Comm announced my 31/10 summons on live TV way before official letter emailed to me at 19:20 hrs. All complaints & suo moto affidavits also released to media.  I look forward to deposing immediately after my pre-scheduled constituency programmes end on Nov 4,” she wrote.

Explaining the reasons for not appearing on October 31, Ms Moitra said Durga Puja is the biggest festival in West Bengal and she had already “committed to attending numerous pre-scheduled Vijaya Dashami Sammelans/meetings (both government and political) in my constituency (Krishnanagar) from 30th October to 4th November 2023 and cannot be in Delhi on 31st October 2023”.

She also pointed out that a similar courtesy had been extended to BJP MP Ramesh Biduri who had been summoned by the Privileges Committee on October 10 and had requested more time since he had scheduled political meetings in Rajasthan.

After the first hearing on Thursday, sources had told NDTV that the panel had agreed that the allegations against Ms Moitra were “very serious”.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Mahua Moitra’s login and travel details have been sought by the parliamentary Ethics Committee, which is inquiring into complaints of “cash for query” against the Trinamool Congress MP and held its first hearing on Thursday.

The Ethics Committee has written to the Union IT and Home ministries for details of Mahua Moitra’s logins and locations to try and verify allegations that she allowed businessman Darshan Hiranandani to access her parliamentary login to post questions directly for Lok Sabha.

The Lok Sabha MP has been accused of taking money to ask questions in parliament, on behalf of the businessman, allegedly designed to target the government and the Adani Group.

The panel has also written to the Ministry of External Affairs to check if an affidavit by Darshan Hiranandani, who is based in Dubai, is ratified.

In the affidavit, Mr Hiranandani had alleged that Mahua Moitra shared her Lok Sabha e-mail ID so he could send her information targeting the Adani Group and she could raise questions in parliament. He claimed she later gave him the login so he could post directly.

The panel has said it will call “no more witnesses” after hearing Mahua Moitra, and submit its report in the beginning of November.

In a nearly three-hour hearing yesterday, the committee heard BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai and discussed every aspect of the allegations they have made against the Trinamool MP.

Nishikant Dubey had first written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to start the inquiry, following Mr Dehadrai’s complaint to the Supreme Court.

Mr Dehradai, whom Ms Moitra called a “jilted ex”, claims “irrefutable evidence” of Darshan Hiranandani giving the Trinamool leader bribes to ask questions critical of the Adani Group.

Ms Moitra has denied all allegations and said that she is ready to answer questions from the committee.

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)