New Delhi:

In a marked escalation of the Mohua Moitra “cash-for-query” controversy, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has written to the Lokpal and sought an investigation into the Trinamool Congress MP’s actions. 

In his complaint to the anti-corruption authority, Mr Dubey has said he is in possession of a letter by Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai which laid out “disturbing facts with detailed proof” against Ms Moitra. 

“In the letter, Mr. Dehadrai provides in great detail how, when and where Ms. Moitra received bribes from a businessman Sh. Darshan Hiraanandani. The said letter clearly mentions how Ms. Mahua Moitra has received Rs 2 crore in cash from Darshan Hiranandani both in Indian currency and foreign currency for asking questions in parliament,” the complaint states. 

“It also mentions that Sh. Darshan Hiranandani had direct access of Ms. Mahua Moitra’s Lok Sabha login credentials and the same has been used by Sh. Darshan Hiranandani while Ms. Mahua Moitra was travelling abroad,” it added.

Mr Dubey said Mr Dehadrai’s letter states how the TMC MP, by posting “questions in parliament in lieu of cash” has furthered the personal agenda of profit and business rivalry of Mr Hiranandani, including questions related to a specific legal issue involving $60 million pertaining to an undisclosed off-shore asset trust and other transactions. 

The complaint claimed that, in an affidavit dated October 20, Mr Hiranandani has “unequivocally and in absolute terms admitted to have met various illegal demands of Ms Moitra”, including gifting various expensive items.

“In the light of the aforesaid, it is established that Ms. Mahua Moitra indulged in corrupt practices including, but not limited to, taking bribes from the aforesaid businessman for compromising her parliamentary privileges and causing national security threats by sharing her login credentials of Lok Sabha,” Mr Dubey said. 

‘Acquired Wealth By Corrupt Means’

Mr Dubey claimed that the letter by Mr Dehadrai and the affidavit by Mr Hiranandani left no “iota of doubt that Ms Moitra is engaged in rampant corruption and has acquired wealth by corrupt means and practice”. 

“She has been accepting huge sums of money as illegal gratification and, thus, it is a clear case of misuse of public office and criminal misconduct. By misusing her offices and position as an MP, Ms. Mahua Moitra has obtained valuable properties and thus squarely falls under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act,” the complaint stated.

Mr Dubey alleged the Trinamool MP had committed criminal offences not only under the Prevention of Corruption Act but also under the Indian Penal Code and requested the Lokpal to conduct an investigation. 

‘Mortgaged Country’s Security’

Earlier in the day, Mr Dubey had alleged that the TMC MP had mortgaged the country’s security for money and claimed that her parliamentary ID was used in Dubai when she was in India. 

Mr Dubey, who had filed the complaint against Ms Moitra before the Lok Sabha Speaker, accusing her of taking bribes for asking questions in Parliament, alleged that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has informed an investigating agency that her ID was used in Dubai when she was in India. 

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, in Hindi, Mr Dubey wrote in Hindi, “An MP mortgaged the country’s security for some money. The parliament ID was opened in Dubai when the so-called MP was in India. The entire Indian government, the Prime Minister of the country, the finance department, the central agencies are on this NIC.”

Ms Moitra has denied the allegations and said she is ready to face questions from the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee.

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

New Delhi:

Businessman Darshan Hiranandani’s explosive affidavit on his links with Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and claims on her efforts to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi by using the Adani Group, has brought cheer to her detractors. Most of them hailed the affidavit as a victory for truth. Others named as Mahua Moitra’s allies, like journalist Sucheta Dalal, called the affidavit a “farce”.

In his affidavit, Darshan Hiranandani claimed Mahua 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 Ms Moitra received support from others in this effort, including journalists, Opposition leaders and former Adani Group employees, who fed her unverified information. In this context, he named Sucheta Dalal and a few others.

The BJP’s Nishikant Dubey, who had sought Mahua Moitra’s suspension from parliament in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, in a Hindi post on X, formerly Twitter, said, “The security of the country and the dignity of the Parliament are paramount for me. Satyamev Jayate”.

देश की सुरक्षा एवं संसद की गरिमा मेरे लिए सर्वोपरि है
सत्यमेव जयते

— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) October 19, 2023

“Truth always wins” was the one-liner from Jai Anant Dehadrai, who had initially contacted the Central Bureau of Investigation with allegations against the Trinamool MP.

Truth always wins! pic.twitter.com/XBpAu4oXKF

— Jai Anant Dehadrai (@jai_a_dehadrai) October 19, 2023

Sucheta Dalal, on the other hand, called it “stupefying” and claimed she does not know Mahua Moitra “personally at all”.

“This is completely stupefying — I do not know @MahuaMoitra personally at all – I may have retweeted some of her stuff. I don’t know Pallavi Shroff and I used to know #ShardulShroff long ago. I dare anyone to find any links between me and them. Requesting IT minister @Rajeev_GoI to help me get to the bottom of it @AshwiniVaishnaw also please help. This is one time the govt ought to help prevent this kind of slander by some crooks!!” read her post on X.

This is completely stupefying — I do not know @MahuaMoitra personally at all – I may have retweeted some of her stuff. I don’t know Pallavi Shroff and I used to know #ShardulShroff long ago. I dare anyone to find any links between me and them. Requesting IT minister @Rajeev_GoI… https://t.co/uwJ5JymOc3

— Sucheta Dalal (@suchetadalal) October 19, 2023

“I don’t know @MahuaMoitra – and I think she can confirm it. The question of helping her simply does not arise, NOR did she EVER reach out and ask for any help either !” read another of her posts.

Trinamool’s Majid Memon, who is also a noted advocate of the Supreme Court, pointed out that such issues should be brought to the notice of the Parliamentary Ethics Committee and not be leaked to the media. “Mr Darshan Hiranandani must remember that if he is trying to suggest that he has bribed the MP to do something that she is not supposed to do then the bribe giver is equally liable for criminal action,” he said.

He, however, made it clear that he was speaking as a lawyer and not a representative of the party.

In his affidavit, Mr Hirandani has claimed that Ms Moitra, “in her endeavour, was getting help from other people like Sucheta Dalal, Shardul Shroff, and Pallavi Shroff, who were also in touch with her, and who were feeding her with all kinds of unverified information relating to Gautam Adani and his companies”.

“She also received unverified details from several sources, including some claiming to be former Adani group employees. Certain information was shared with me, based on which I continued to draft and post questions using her parliamentary login whenever needed,” read the affidavit, accessed by NDTV.

In his letter to Om Birla, Nishikant Dubey had alleged that the Hiranandani Group had lost energy and infra contract to the Adani Group and Ms Moitra’s questions were directed at perpetuating the business interests of the former.

Mr Hiranandani has claimed that he was helping Ms Moitra in her efforts to target PM Modi through the Adani Group. While admitting that he had also granted favours to Ms Moitra, he claimed these were given on her demand.

“She made frequent demands of me and kept asking me for various favours which I had to fulfil in order to remain in close proximity of her and get her support… I could ill afford to displease her. Many a time I felt she was taking undue advantage of me and pressurising me to do things I didn’t want to but I had no choice, because of the aforementioned reasons,” his affidavit read.

The favours included gifting her expensive luxury items, “providing support for renovation of her officially allotted bungalow in Delhi, travel expenses, holidays etc,” he wrote.

Mahua Moitra shredded Mr Hiranandani’s affidavit. “Darshan Hiranandani has not been summoned by the CBI or the Ethics Committee or indeed by any investigative agency yet. Who then has he given this affidavit to,” she said in the statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

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

File image.
| Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI

The Adani Group has reacted to the alleged ‘cash for question’ in the Parliament about the Group raised by a BJP parliamentarian against TMC MP Mahua Moitra, saying this development corroborates the conglomerate’s recent statement where it said that “some groups and individuals have been working overtime to harm our name, goodwill and market standing.”

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday wrote a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla and another letter on Monday to Union Minister for Communications Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister of State (MoS) IT Rajeev Chandrashekhar making “cash for query” allegations against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and demanding an inquiry committee against her. Mr. Dubey alleged Ms. Moitra took bribes to ask questions on the Adani Group in the Parliament.

Mr. Dubey, through his letter, claimed that a lawyer had provided him proof of alleged bribe exchanges between the TMC MP and businessman Darshan Hiranandani of the Hiranandani Group. Mr. Dubey wrote that these allegations must be looked into with the utmost seriousness and an investigation must be initiated to ascertain the IP address of all login credentials of Mahua Moitra’s Lok Sabha account and to determine whether there are any instances in which her Lok Sabha account was accessed at a location where she was not present.

In its statement the Adani Group said these charges reveal an arrangement to hurt the groups reputation. “This development corroborates our statement of 9 Oct 2023 that some groups and individuals have been working overtime to harm our name, goodwill and market standing. In this particular case, the lawyer’s complaint reveals that this arrangement to besmirch the reputation and interests of the Adani Group and our Chairman Mr. Gautam Adani has been in place since 2018,” an Adani Group spokesperson said Monday.

On October 9, Adani Group had apprised the public, through a media statement and exchange filings, that “some foreign entities like the OCCRP, supported by a section of the foreign media, short-sellers and domestic collaborators, have launched a series of attacks against the Adani Group with the primary intent of dragging down its market value. In fact, these individuals and groups, bound by the common objective of damaging the Adani Group, have developed a playbook which is being executed to perfection by a well-oiled and professional machinery working in sync both within India and abroad.”

The conglomerate also pointed out that one tactic in their playbook includes putting out media reports with “an uncanny ability to appear just before the hearing dates of important cases in India’s courts.” Meanwhile, the Hiranandani Group criticised the allegations made by the BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, saying they have “no merit”.

“We have always been in the business of business and not in the business of politics. Our group has always worked with the government in the interest of the nation and will continue doing so,” said a spokesperson of the Hiranandani Group.

New Delhi:

The BJP’s Nishikant Dubey has demanded immediate suspension of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, alleging that she “took bribes to ask questions” in parliament from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to target the Adani group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr Dubey has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing Ms Moitra of breach of parliamentary privilege, contempt of House and criminal conspiracy.

Ms Moitra has said she welcomes any kind of inquiry.

The Hiranandani Group also rubbished the allegations, saying they have “no merit”. “We have always been in the business of business and not in the business of politics. Our group has always worked with the government in the interest of the nation and will continue doing so,” said a spokesperson of the Hiranandani Group.

The Hiranandani Group had lost energy and infra contract to the Adani Group and Ms Moitra’s questions were directed at perpetuating the business interests of the former, Mr Dubey has indicated in his letter to Mr Birla.

He claimed that Mr Hiranandani has paid Rs 2 crore and gifts like expensive i-phone to the Trinamool MP and has given her Rs 75 lakh to contest elections.

Between 2019 and 2023, fifty of the 61 questions asked by the MP were at the behest of Darshan Hiranandani, Mr Dubey has alleged. The MP had given the businessman access to her Lok Sabha account where the questions were posted directly by Mr Hiranandani or Ms Moitra on his behest, his letter claimed, citing “painstaking research” done by advocate Jai Anand Dehadrai. The advocate has approached the CBI with some of his allegations.

Ms Moitra has asked questions on oil and gas supply from Paradip, Dhamra Port, urea subsidy, steel prices affecting real estate and the powers of the Income Tax Department, he alleged, adding that the Opposition parties took their cue from her.

In his letter, he has also referred to the cash for questions scam that made headlines in 2005, in which 11 MPS were suspended in a “record time of 23 days” and added that the current situation is no more than a “re-emergence of the cash for query”.

Ms Moitra, he added, should be suspended immediately from the House pending an inquiry.

New Delhi:

Bahujan Samaj Party MP Danish Ali has made a serious allegation against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey over the controversy surrounding the communal comments in the Lok Sabha by Ramesh Bidhuri, another BJP MP.

Mr Dubey, while condemning the comments by his party colleague, also alleged that Mr Ali used casteist slur against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which provoked Mr Bidhuri to lash out at the leader from Mayawati’s party.

“No civilised society can accept the statement given by Ramesh Vidhuri ji in the Lok Sabha as correct… But the Lok Sabha Speaker should also investigate the indecent words and conduct of Danish Ali,” Mr Dubey said in a post on X.

“According to the rules and procedures of the Lok Sabha, interrupting an MP during the scheduled time, speaking while sitting… also comes under the ambit of punishment. I have been an MP for the past 15 years. I stay in the house for the longest time, from opening of the Lok Sabha till its closing. I never thought I would see such a day,” Mr Dubey posted in Hindi.

रमेश विधुडी जी के लोकसभा में दिए बयान को कोई भी सभ्य समाज ठीक नहीं कह सकता,इसकी जितनी निंदा की जाए कम है लेकिन @loksabhaspeaker जी को सांसद दानिश अली के भी अमर्यादित शब्दों व आचरण की जॉंच करनी चाहिए ।लोकसभा की नियम प्रक्रियाओं के तहत किसी सांसद के निर्धारित समय के बीच टोकना,बैठे…

— Dr Nishikant Dubey (@nishikant_dubey) September 23, 2023

Responding to the allegation, Mr Ali the said goal behind the comment by the BJP MP was to enable his “physical lynching outside the house” since “verbal lynching” had already happened inside.

“BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s letter (to Lok Sabha Speaker) is to create a narrative pertaining to my lynching outside the house as my verbal lynching already took place,” Mr Ali told news agency PTI today.

During a discussion on the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Mr Bidhuri had used a string of objectionable and communal words against the BSP MP, triggering disgust and widespread condemnation both from politicians and people on social media.

On Friday, the BJP also issued a show cause notice to Mr Bidhuri and asked him to explain his conduct.

Mr Bidhuri alleged that when he was speaking, the BSP MP was “busy instigating” him and also – at the top of his voice – made a “highly objectionable and blasphemous remark” against PM Modi.

New Delhi:

Hours after being accused of provoking the BJP MP who hurled communal slurs at him in the Lok Sabha, Bahujan Samaj Party member Danish Ali hit back at the ruling party and said that it was trying to frame a narrative against him. 

Mr Ali said that, far from provoking or instigating BJP MP Ramesh Bidhuri by making an objectionable remark against Prime Minister Narendra Modi – as was alleged by the party’s Nishikant Dubey earlier in the day – he was trying to get the abusive words expunged from the record. 

During a discussion on the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, Mr Bidhuri had used a string of objectionable and communal words against the BSP MP, triggering disgust and widespread condemnation both from politicians and people on social media. On Friday, the BJP had also issued a show-cause notice to Mr Bidhuri and asked him to explain his conduct. 

On Saturday, however, BJP Nishikant Dubey, while condemning the language used by Mr Bidhuri, wrote to Speaker Om Birla and demanded that the “unsavoury” conduct of Mr Ali be investigated as well. 

“The fact remains that during the entire speech of Shri Bidhuri, Shri Danish Ali indulged in a ‘running commentary’ and also made unsavoury remarks towards one and all with a view to cause hindrance to Shri Bidhuri and also instigate him to ‘lose his calm and composure’ and not be able to express his views in the House,” Mr Dubey wrote in his letter. 

The BJP MP alleged that when Mr Bidhuri was speaking, the BSP MP was “busy instigating” him and also – at the top of his voice – made a “highly objectionable and blasphemous remark” against PM Modi. 

“This statement made by Danish Ali, I think, was more than enough for any patriotic public representative to ‘lose his calm’ and fall into his trap by uttering unsavoury words,” Mr Dubey said, requesting the Speaker to ensure that the remarks made by Mr Ali are probed as well. 

New Delhi:

Amid a heated debate in Lok Sabha today on the Women’s Reservation Bill, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleged that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had “tried to grab the collar” of a Samajwadi Party member during chaos in the House during a debate on quota in promotions in 2012.

The BJP MP from Godda opened the debate for the ruling party. This sparked a protest from Opposition MPs, who demanded that a woman MP should lead the BJP’s charge. Home Minister Amit Shah intervened to question why a man cannot raise issues concerning women.

Taking a swipe at INDIA bloc, Mr Dubey said Congress MPs had thrashed their allies in the Well of Lok Sabha when the then UPA government had brought a Women’s Reservation Bill to Lok Sabha in 2011. He then mentioned the 2012 discussion on a legislation to implement reservation in promotions.

“When I talk about the Bill to bring reservation in promotion, all those in these benches will be up on their feet. (Congress minister) V Narayanasamy was presenting the Bill. Samajwadi Party’s Yashvir Singh was a Scheduled Caste MP; these people talk about Scheduled Castes and Tribes. Yashvir Singh had snatched the papers from Mr Narayanasamy,” he said.

“In this Lok Sabha, Sonia Gandhi had then tried to grab his (Yashvir Singh) collar. I had then told her, ‘you are not the dictator here, you are not the queen, you cannot fight here’,” Mr Dubey added. “Mulayam Singh Yadav had then said that his party’s MPs would not have been saved if the BJP did not intervene. You tried to murder MPs. Now you have come together in an alliance,” he said.

The constitutional amendment Bill, tabled in Lok Sabha Tuesday, aims to provide 33% reservation for women in Lok Sabha and state assemblies.

What Happened In 2012?
News reports from 2012 describe Ms Gandhi’s intervention during the chaos in Lok Sabha. She had reportedly held Yashvir Singh and asked “what are you doing” after he snatched the papers from Mr Narayanasamy, who later went on to serve as Puducherry Governor. The news reports say she had tried to take the papers from Mr Singh’s hands, but could not. Late Mulayam Singh Yadav, then Samajwadi Party chief, had condemned the “attack on our MPs”. 

BJP Credits Left Leader
“The two women who spoke in favour of the women reservation Bill the most were Bengal’s Geeta Mukherjee and BJP’s Sushma Swaraj. We would not see this date without them. But Sonia ji did not mention them. What kind of politics is this?,” Mr Dubey asked. Ms Mukerjee was CPI’s seven-time MP from Bengal’s Panskura between 1980 and 2000. 

Throwback To Sharad Yadav’s “Short Hair” Remark
Mr Dubey referred to a remark by veteran politician late Sharad Yadav on the women reservation Bill that had sparked a huge row. The women reservation Bill was first introduced in Parliament by the HD Devegowda government in 1996. The next year, during a discussion on the legislation, Mr Yadav opposed the move. During his speech, he had remarked that the Bill would empower only “women with short hair” – a euphemism for educated and modern women. The BJP MP’s remarks had sparked a row, forcing him to eventually apologise.