"Mahua Moitra mortgaged country’s security for money": BJP MP

mangaloretoday.com/NDTV

New Delhi, Oct 21, 2023: The Mahua Moitra-Darshan Hiranandani affidavit controversy escalated on Saturday with both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress MP firing salvos at each other. While MP Nishikant Dubey of the BJP alleged the TMC MP had mortgaged the country’s security for money, claiming that her parliamentary ID was used in Dubai when she was in India, Ms Moitra hit back and accused the MP of leaking information.

 

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 on Saturday 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."

"Do @AITCofficial and the opposition still want to do politics? It is the public’s decision. NIC has given this information to the investigating agency," he added, without taking Ms Moitra’s name or disclosing which agency the information had been given to.

Countering Mr Dubey’s claims, the TMC MP asked the NIC to release details publicly and show that MPs were physically present in places from where their IDs were accessed by their personal assistants, researchers, interns and staff members.

In his affidavit, businessman Darshan Hiranandani had claimed that Ms 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.

The businessman claimed Ms Moitra wanted to quickly make a name for herself at the national level and she was told by her friends and advisors that the shortest possible route to fame was by personally attacking PM Modi.

He said the TMC MP made frequent demands and kept asking him for various favours. This included gifting her expensive luxury items, providing support on the renovation of her officially allotted bungalow in Delhi, travel expenses and holidays.

Ms Moitra has denied the allegations and said she is ready to face questions from the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee, which is looking into Mr Dubey’s complaint.