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“Shame on BJP” — West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s immediate reaction to TMC leader Mahua Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha on Friday was countered by the BJP’s reaction that her ouster would go a long way in restoring the “credibility of the institution”.
A motion based on the Lok Sabha ethics committee report recommending Moitra’s expulsion was passed in Parliament, with Speaker Om Birla saying that the House accepts the conclusions of the parliamentary panel tabled by chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar. “…This House accepts the conclusions of the Committee that MP Mahua Moitra’s conduct was immoral and indecent as an MP. So, it is not appropriate for her to continue as an MP…” he said.
While Moitra raged on about how the ethics panel did not have the power to expel her, opposition members, including the Gandhis, stood behind her. Equating her own expulsion to a “hanging by a kangaroo court”, the TMC leader said it is the “weaponisation” of a parliamentary committee.
“The Ethics Committee has no power to expel….This is the beginning of your (BJP) end,” Moitra said.
She added: “…If this Modi government thought that by shutting me up they could do away with the Adani issue, let me tell you this that this kangaroo court has only shown to all of India that the haste and the abuse of due process you have used demonstrates how important (Gautam) Adani is to you. And to what length you will go to harass a single woman MP into shutting her into submission…”
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who sought for more time to discuss the ethics committee report against Moitra, said her expulsion was done with a “sentiment of revenge”.
Interestingly, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, the man responsible for the filing the allegations in the cash-for-query row as a complaint, refused to make a comment.
Here are the reactions that came in thick and fast as Moitra walked out of Parliament, supported by the opposition that staged a walkout:
What the BJP said
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya posted his sentiments on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, saying Moitra had become the face of “impropriety” in Parliament and her expulsion was imminent to restore the credibility of the institution. Calling her a “delinquent MP”, he said it was Mamata Banerjee’s “patronage and selective support” that should be questioned. He accused the chief minister of snooping on Moitra and said she was aware of everything that the first-time MP was up to. He also called for Moitra to be sacked by the TMC.
“…But it is Mamata Banerjee’s patronage and selective support for the delinquent MP that must be questioned. She had the state CID snooping on her so she was aware of everything Mahua Moitra was up to. Did she wilfully allow the MP to undermine the institution of Parliament to exercise leverage on corporate houses? What did the poor of Bengal gain? Poor have lost their land and acres of mango groves to Mamata Banerjee’s corporate friends. And the people of Krishnanagar, the constituency Mahua Moitra was elected from, suffered, since no one raised their issues. We now know what her priorities were! Mamata Banerjee must sack Mahua Moitra from the TMC, failing which it would be obvious that she was acting at her behest. Anyway, nothing moves in the TMC without Mamata Banerjee’s consent and active collusion,” Malviya posted.
On the expulsion of Mahua Moitra as TMC MP, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi says, “In 2005, when 10 MPs were expelled, at the time the report was presented on the same day…”
On the expulsion of Mahua Moitra from Lok Sabha, West Bengal BJP chief and MP Sukanta Majumdar says, “…Earlier too Congress had suspended 10 MPs in a day. This isn’t happening for the first time. Yes, it might be happening for the first time in the history of West Bengal…The accused can never present his side in the Lok Sabha, if the accused has to present the side it has to be infront of the Ethics Committee. Mahua Moitra was called before the committee. She presented her side for some time. Later, when she had to answer the questions, she could not answer and ran away… If you had to give any answer, you should have given it in front of the committee…”
On Mahua Moitra’s expulsion from Lok Sabha, BJP MP Locket Chatterjee says, “There should be no politics on the issue of national security.”
On the expulsion of Mahua Moitra as TMC MP, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi says, ” This is a lesson to all MPs, when we become MPs, we take an oath, we’re supposed to follow certain rules…the whole country is watching us…In Mahua Moitra’s case, immorality was visible…this is the reason why she was expelled from Lok Sabha…” On the expulsion of Mahua Moitra as TMC MP, BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi says, I am also a woman, I want to say that whether woman or man, we all are MPs…as per the system, both women and men MPs need to work…Mahua Moitra has done unethical conduct, so it should be condemned. If opposition is standing with her then they are supporting a wrong thing”
On the expulsion of Mahua Moitra from Lok Sabha, Union Minister Subhas Sarkar says, “… In a day her (Mahua Moitra) portal was launched in 4 places in the world – Delhi, Bengaluru and outside the country, Dubai and the USA and for whom? For a corporate house and a businessman.”
What the TMC said
On Mahua Moitra’s expulsion from Lok Sabha, West Bengal minister & TMC leader Dr. Shashi Panja says,”…A woman in power is something which BJP cannot tolerate….How did they think this expulsion was enough to mute her just because she spoke against BJP? In 2024, she will contest the elections.”
“Justice has been denied to Mahua Moitra,” says Sudip Bandyopadhyay after Mahua Moitra was expelled as TMC.
Opposition MPs walked out from Lok Sabha after the motion to expel Mahua Moitra was passed in the House On Mahua Moitra’s expulsion as a Member of the Lok Sabha, TMC MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay says, ” …They did not let us speak…they tried to muffle the democratic tradition…parties of INDIA alliance came together on this…”
What the opposition said
On Mahua Moitra’s expulsion as TMC MP, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says, “This was done based on baseless facts and with a sentiment of revenge.”
The ruling party should hire a consultant to take membership of the opposition people, so that the time of the ministers and ruling party MPs and MLAs is not spent on conspiratorial activities but on public interest works. If the basis on which membership of MPs is being taken is implemented on the ruling party, then perhaps only one or two of their MPs-MLAs will be left in the House.
Some people prove to be more lethal for the ruling party on the streets than in the House. Akhilesh
On the expulsion of TMC’s Mahua Moitra as a Member of the Lok Sabha, BSP MP Danish Ali says, “I’ve put this (poster) because the committee also mentioned me in its recommendation because I want to bring her justice…She wasn’t given an opportunity…”
On Mahua Moitra’s expulsion as TMC MP, Congress MP Manickam Tagore says, ” New Parliament and new rules. Whoever speaks against Adani, they will be silenced, Mahua Moitra is a perfect example of this. She was not allowed to speak at all in Parliament…she was not given a chance to speak her side…this is a planned political conspiracy…democracy failed today…it is a black day for democracy…this is like a third emergency…”
On Mahua Moitra’s expulsion as a Member of the Lok Sabha, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram says, ” …So the committee came to a conclusion that she is criminal but in the next line, the committee recommends for an intense legal institutional inquiry by Govt of India in a time bound manner. After finding somebody criminal, why are you asking for an inquiry? This recommendation itself is completely contradictory…the person who drafted it has to read it again…”
Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti: Its a sad day for the world’s largest democracy when a brilliant feisty Parliamentarian like Mahua Moitra is harassed to no ends, slandered & eventually expelled from Parliament in an utter disregard for the due process. This is the price she paid for speaking truth to power.
Abhishek Singhvi: The way in which #MahuaMoitra was expelled is certainly not what happens in a representative democracy. Why was the treasury bench in such a hurry, haste, and hassle?
On the expulsion of Mahua Moitra as TMC MP, Congress MP Rajni Patil says, “A Parliamentarian is not limited to a constituency…If they are criticising this a complete inquiry should be conducted – proof should be given and then a decision should be taken…” Congress MP Rajni Patil says, “This government’s behaviour is – You show me the person & I will show you the rule. Different rules are set for different people…”
On Mahua Moitra’s expulsion from Lok Sabha, JMM MP Dr. Mahua Maji says, “The way this is done is undemocratic. The allegations against her have not been proven yet. This is a part of a conspiracy to silence the Opposition.”
On the expulsion of Mahua Moitra as TMC MP, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi says, ” Decision was taken based on the statement of the person who levelled the allegation. It is against the natural course of justice …”
“Everyone knows that she has been vehemently attacking Adani and the PM, and that is the reason why she has been expelled without any justifiable reason,” says RSP MP NK Premachandran on the expulsion of Mahua Moitra as TMC MP
The CPI(M) claimed that Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha is a “black day” for the Parliament. Describing the action against Moitra as “overactiveness”, CPI(M) central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said that it is a display of the BJP’s use of its brute majority in the Lok Sabha.
“It is a black day for the Parliament,” he told PTI. Adopting the recommendation of the Ethics Committee in the ‘cash-for-query’ matter, the Lok Sabha expelled Moitra from the House.
Claiming that it is an act of “injustice”, Chakraborty said that Moitra was not given a chance to cross-examine the complainant, BJP Lok Sabha member Nishikant Dubey. Businessman Darshan Hiranandani had claimed in a signed affidavit that Moitra targeted industrialist Gautam Adani to “malign and embarrass” Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Lok Sabha expelled the TMC MP after holding her guilty of sharing her credentials with others and accepting gifts from a businessman to extend favours. The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha had recommended Moitra’s expulsion from the House over the “cash-for-query” allegation.
(With PTI inputs)
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