Mahua Moitra is no longer an MP now: What's the road ahead for TMC firebrand leader
Congress leader Mahua Moitra was on Friday expelled from the Lok Sabha on the recommendation of Ethics Committee report in the 'cash for query' that was tabled in the Lower House today.
The Ethics Committee report probing 'Unethical Conduct' of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP had recommended that Moitra «may be expelled» from the Lok Sabha and called for an «intense, legal, institutional inquiry» by the central government in a «time-bound manner».
«The serious misdemeanours on the part of Mahua Moitra calls for severe punishment. The Committee, therefore, recommend that Mahua Moitra, MP may be expelled from the Membership of the Seventeenth Lok Sabha,» the report stated.
What's the road ahead for Mahua Moitra:
As per legal experts, Mahua can challenge her expulsion in the court of law, citing that " there was no evidence of cash or gift given to her." Minutes after her expulsion as a Lok Sabha member, Moitra said she has been found guilty of breaching a code of ethics that does not exist and that there was no evidence of cash or gift given to her.
Is there any precedence similar to Mahua Moitra's case:
In December 2005, the Lok Sabha had expelled 10 members and a Rajya Sabha member from Parliament in a cash-for-query scam.
In 2005, a sting operation conducted by online news site Cobrapost and aired on a private TV channel brought to light a cash-for-query scam.
The operation revealed 11 Members of Parliament accepting cash in exchange for raising questions in the Parliament. This scandal, which unfolded on December 12, 2005, marked a significant moment in Indian political history.
The accused MPs included six from the BJP, three from BSP, and one each from the RJD and Congress.
