Mahua Moitra summoned by ED in foreign exchange violation case
What's the story
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra on Monday (February 19) for questioning in an alleged foreign exchange violation case. Her statement will be recorded under the provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act. To recall, Moitra was expelled from the Lok Sabha in December 2023 based on an Ethics Committee report on the alleged 'cash-for-query' charges against her.
Background
What is the 'cash-for-query' row?
A Parliamentary panel found Moitra guilty of accepting expensive gifts from a businessman and sharing her Parliament login credentials with him. The cash-for-query row started after Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey claimed Moitra took bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to ask questions targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Adani Group in Parliament. The Central Bureau of Investigation is also investigating the case.
Earlier proceedings
Moitra denied allegations of taking bribes
In October, Moitra admitted sharing her Parliament login credentials with Hiranandani but asserted that "no rules prohibited it." Moitra claimed that every MP's questions are distributed to their teams. In response to accusations of accepting cash and gifts from him, she dismissed those charges as frivolous.
Petition
Moitra's plea pending in SC
Notably, Moitra had challenged her expulsion in the Supreme Court, where her petition is currently pending. On January 3, the apex court declined to grant interim relief to Moitra in the case. The court, however, had sought a reply from the Lok Sabha Secretary General on the TMC leader's plea.
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Banerjee claimed Moitra's expulsion was "vendetta politics"
"This is vendetta politics of BJP. They killed democracy... It is injustice. Mahua will win the battle. People will give a befitting reply to the BJP. They will be defeated in the next election," Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee claimed.
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Banerjee called it vendetta politics
"This is vendetta politics of BJP. They killed democracy... It is injustice. Mahua will win the battle. The people will give a befitting reply to the BJP. They will be defeated in the next election," Ms Banerjee had said.