Is firebrand Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra paying the price for standing up to the Bharatiya Janata Party and blue-eyed-boy industrialist Gautam Adani? BJP MP from Godda Nishikant Dubey has levelled charges of cash for query against Moitra in a complaint to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, listing out questions asked by Moitra inside the Lower House allegedly at the behest of industrialist and businessman Darshan Hiranandani aimed at targeting Adani and in turn the Narendra Modi government. In exchange, Hiranandani allegedly bestowed expensive gifts on Moitra, according to the complaint.
Dubey also accused the TMC MP of sharing her Parliament login credentials with Hiranandani so that he could directly post the questions on her behalf. How did Dubey lay his hands on this information about Moitra? Well, the main connection or, so to say, the whistleblower of the story is Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai, who is supposedly Moitra’s “jilted ex”. Moitra in the last six months had filed many complaints against Dehadrai for alleged criminal trespass, theft, vulgar messages and abuse. This particular aspect was shared or allegedly leaked by the Trinamool leaders themselves. The grapevine in Kolkata and Delhi is that many within her own party were gunning for the firebrand Moitra, and perhaps they were looking for an opportune moment to pounce. As soon as the controversy on cash for query broke, Trinamool promptly distanced itself from her. It’s this soft underbelly which Dubey and Dehadrai might have tried to capitalise on, to knock out Moitra. How and when the conspiracy might have been hatched, whether it was a result of coercion, and if so then who coerced whom — the link is not very clear. The matter is now listed before the Parliament Ethics Committee scheduled for hearing on October 26. Officially the Trinamool Congress has abandoned Moitra like all other scam-tainted leaders. Mamata Banerjee has gone into a radio silence which many within the party feel is quite deliberate.
Moitra is known to be an impulsive liberal, and pulls no punches — whether it was the reference to Kali as a meat-eating and alcohol-loving goddess; the sacred cow judiciary which is no more sacred, in reference to former CJI Ranjan Gogoi; she even once said that Jains secretly ate non-vegetarian food. In another scorching speech, she lashed out at the Modi government on CAA and NRC for ushering in a Holocaust. Many seniors within the Trinamool Congress say Moitra is a victim of her own attitude. Since her debut in Parliament in 2019 she had carved out a reputation for herself with her fiery speeches and almost dwarfed and silenced other TMC leaders in the Lok Sabha. Was there a growing sense of insecurity within the rank and file of the TMC because of her rising national stature as a liberal woman leader, and her proximity with the Lutyens press? All these factors certainly cannot be ruled out. It's quite obvious that a regional supremo like Mamata Banerjee would not take these gestures generously, but had to keep quiet all this while because of a lack of a solid and appropriate moment to get back at her. So was this a moment which many in TMC were waiting for? The jury could be out on that.
There are layers within layers to Moitra’s fall from grace. An affidavit filed by Darshan Hiranandani leaked to the press admits that he did pay cash and gifts in lieu of questions asked by Mahua. He also admitted that he had access to her Parliament login from foreign soil. Again whether this affidavit was made under duress or any kind of arm-twisting is difficult to judge, but the story does look convoluted with many loose ends pointing towards an overarching cocktail of corporate and political rivalry, revenge and love. Has Nishikant Dubey then administered the “coup de grace” with a knife? Well it does seem so currently as it serves multiple purposes, defends Adani and in turn Modi, at a time when both need cover from corruption charges. Dubey has also used the Parliamentary forum to exterminate a vocal and articulate opponent of the Modi government, has referred the matter to the Lokpal as well putting TMC on the back foot, and brightened his own chance of securing a Union cabinet berth for himself to which he has aspired for long. Will Dubey succeed this time? He may or may not but, as he claims, he is armed with a letter written by Dehadrai to the Central Bureau of Investigation listing out details of cash and gifts received by Moitra.
Moitra’s response through her many posts on X (Twitter) has been “they cannot scare me” but undeniably Nishikant Dubey, Jai Anant Dehadrai and Darshan Hiranandani have played their best knockout blow for the time being, seemingly. Rajya Sabha MP from Trinamool Congress Derek O’Brien’s statement hints at tough action which his party might think about. He said, “The member concerned has been advised by the party leadership to clarify her position regarding the allegations levelled against her. She has already done that. However, since the matter has to do with an elected MP, her rights and privileges, let the matter be investigated by the right forum of Parliament, after which the party leadership will take an appropriate decision.” This statement’s tone and tenor is different from the initial stand taken by TMC leader Kunal Ghosh on the first day when the controversy unfolded, when he tersely said “no comments”. This does look like a warning for Moitra, who could face the axe from the Ethics Committee dominated by the BJP, and may end up on the TMC’s chopping block as well. There is a strong buzz that Moitra is already having backchannel talks with the Congress, which could become her new political dwelling. Rahul Gandhi and Mahua Moitra have a common vehement opposition to Adani, their decibel levels and pitch too have been in tandem. Apart from this Mamata has been tough on the Congress in I.N.D.I.A alliance meetings, and it could well be time for the Congress to welcome the battered Moitra in its fold.
Is Mahua Moitra right or wrong; were her actions ethical; did she make mistakes or did she become a victim of the irony of situations? For now let’s leave all this for the Parliament’s Ethics Committee to deliberate.
Neelu Vyas is a senior television anchor and consulting editor with Satya Hindi. Twitter: @neeluopines
