New Delhi: Standing firm behind expelled Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and calling her expulsion “unfortunate,” West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee the expulsion without giving her a chance to defend herself was “wrong”.
Moitra, facing cash for query allegations, was expelled from the Lok Sabha after the Parliament adopted the report of its Ethics Committee, which was probing the matter. The motion moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi was passed by a voice vote after a heated debate between the opposition and Treasury benches.
“Party is fully giving support to her…When they expelled her without taking her opinion, then I stood strongly,” the West Bengal CM said.
She further alleged the case against Mahua Moitra was because of personal interest. “This is a very bad case. It is because of personal interest. She was not allowed to defend herself. That is also very unfortunate. When the opposition raises their views, they are expelled; they did nothing,” she said.
She further labelled the BJP as a “washing machine” and alleged that corrupt leaders are exonerated and spared when they join the BJP, while opposition leaders are arrested and jailed. “If you are in the BJP, you are very good; if you are not, then you have to go to the washing machine,” he added.
Notably, the expelled MP was not allowed to speak in the Lok Sabha during the debate as Speaker Om Birla cited past rulings –of his predecessor Somnath Chatterjee’s– in the 2005 cash-for-query matter when the House expelled 11 MPs for accepting bribes to as questions.
Soon after her expulsion, Moitra read her statement on Parliament premises and said, “This Lok Sabha has also seen the weaponisation of the Parliamentary committee. Ironically the Ethics Committee which was set up to serve as a moral compass for members instead has been abused egregiously today to do exactly what it was never meant to do, which is to bulldoze the opposition and become another weapon to ‘thok do’ (crush) us into submission.”
“This committee and this report have broken every rule in the book. In essence, you are finding me guilty of breaching a code of ethics that does not exist,” Moitra said, adding that the committee is punishing her for engaging in a practise that is routine, accepted and encouraged in the House,” she said.
Moitra further alleged that the findings are solely based on the written testimonies of two private citizens whose versions contradict each other in material terms and her right to cross-examine them was snatched.
Moitra said that the Ethics Committee, without getting to the root of the investigation, decided to hang her.
