New Delhi:

Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a foreign exchange violation case, sources said Wednesday.

The agency wants to question Ms Moitra over transactions linked to a non-resident external, or NRE, account, as well as a few instances of foreign remittances and transfer of funds, sources said.

Ms Moitra has denied any wrongdoing in the matter.

The summons are the Enforcement Directorate’s third to the former Krishnanagar Lok Sabha MP; she skipped the first two citing scheduling conflicts and sought a new date from the agency.

READ | Mahua Moitra Summoned By ED In Foreign Exchange Violation Case

The summons comes after the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a case and raided her Kolkata home in the cash-for-query case that led to Ms Moitra’s expulsion from Parliament in December.

A parliamentary ethics panel had found Ms Moitra’s conduct “immoral (and) indecent”.

She has been accused of taking Rs 2 crore in cash, as well as “luxury gift items”, from a businessman – Darshan Hiranandani – to ask questions critical of the government in Parliament. She was also accused of sharing log-in details to her confidential account on the parliament website.

READ | Mahua Moitra Expelled From Parliament: “Her Conduct Immoral, Indecent”

Mr Hiranandani has also been called for questioning, but in an unrelated case; this case deals with his Mumbai-based real estate group. Earlier his father, Niranjan Hiranandani, was questioned.

Ms Moitra has denied, vehemently, the bribery charges (but said she did share website credentials, arguing it is common practice among MPs). The Supreme Court will hear this case in May.

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had slammed the expulsion as “vendetta politics” by the Bharatiya Janata Party. “BJP has killed democracy… this 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,” she said.

READ | “Mahua Will Win Battle”: Mamata Condemns Trinamool MP’s Expulsion

The Trinamool has re-nominated Ms Moitra to contest from the Krishnanagar seat she won in the 2019 election; she eased to victory five years ago, picking up nearly 45 per cent of the total votes.

She will contest Amrita Roy, the rajmata of a local royal family, whom the BJP hopes will have enough sway to win a seat that it has won only once since the seat first voted in 1967.

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New Delhi:

TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday said she will appear before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on November 2 but also expressed her desire to cross-examine businessman Darshan Hiranandani over the allegations made against her in the cash-for-query case.

Ms Moitra had requested a hearing date after November 5 to accommodate her existing commitments but was denied an extension beyond November 2.

Moitra on Tuesday questioned whether the Ethics Committee is the appropriate forum to examine allegations of alleged criminality.

She pointed out that parliamentary committees lack criminal jurisdiction and emphasised the importance of involving law enforcement agencies in such cases.

“While registering my protest, I wish to inform you that I will respect the summons and appear before the Committee on November 2, 2023 at 11 am,” she said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Amid the ongoing “cash for query” controversy and war of words between BJP leaders and TMC MP Mahua Moitra, the latter has debunked the allegations made by Union Minister Nishikant Dubey.

Ms Moitra said that there has been no evidence by the BJP to back the ‘fake allegation”.

“First BJP said “Cash for Questions.” That failed since no evidence to back the fake allegation. Now it is “National Security”, said Mahua Moitra in a post on X.

Ms Moitra’s statement comes after Anurag Thakur launched a scathing attack on the TMC MP.

Union Minister Anurag Thakur said this is a matter of ‘national security’ and added that ‘an inquiry and appropriate action should be taken quickly’.

Amid the ongoing cash for query row, The TMC MP has been asked to depose before the Ethics Committee headed by BJP MP Vinod Sonkar to submit oral evidence in regard to the complaint filed against her by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.

The face-off between BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and TMC MP Mahua Moitra started when BJP MP Nishikant Dubey wrote a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla making “cash for query” allegations against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and demanding an inquiry committee against her.

He urged for her “immediate suspension” from the House alleging that “bribes were exchanged between her and businessman Darshan Hiranandani to ask questions in Parliament in exchange for cash and gifts”.

In his letter titled “Re-emergence of nasty ‘Cash for Query’ in Parliament”, Dubey has alleged “‘serious Breach of Privilege’, ‘Contempt of the House’ and a ‘Criminal Offence’ under Section 120A of IPC” by the Trinamool Congress MP.

The businessman, Darshan Hiranandani, responded in an affidavit.

In his 3-page signed affidavit, Darshan Hiranandani admitted to his close relationship with TMC MP Mahua Moitra and claimed that she had shared her Parliament login ID credentials with him.

“She drafted a few questions that she could raise in parliament that would have elements to embarrass the Govt and target the Adani group. She shared with me her email ID as MP, so I could send her information and she could raise the questions. I went along with her proposal” he claims in his affidavit.”

Darshan Hiranandani also claimed that he used the TMC MP’s login credentials to pose questions on the Adani group himself.

Responding to the affidavit, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, in a two-page statement, alleged that the businessman was forced to sign the “white paper.”

(Disclaimer: New Delhi Television is a subsidiary of AMG Media Networks Limited, an Adani Group Company.)