Darjeeling: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday condemned the decision to expel TMC MP Mahua Moitra from the Lok Sabha in the 'cash-for-query' case, dubbing the move as "betrayal" of the country's parliamentary democracy.
Moitra was expelled after the House adopted the report of its Ethics Committee that held her guilty of accepting gifts and illegal gratification from a businessman to further his interest.
"It is a shame for parliamentary democracy. We condemn the way Mahua Moitra was expelled; the party stands with her. They (the BJP) can't defeat us in the election, so they have resorted to vendetta politics. It is a sad day and the betrayal of Indian parliamentary democracy," she told reporters here.
"BJP didn't allow Moitra to even explain her stand": Mamata
The feisty TMC boss alleged that the BJP didn't allow Moitra to even explain her stand.
After a heated debate over the panel report during which Moitra was not allowed to speak, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi moved a motion to expel the TMC member for "unethical conduct", which was adopted by a voice vote.
"But, she (Moitra) will return to Parliament with a bigger mandate. The BJP thinks the party can do whatever it wants as they have a brute majority. They must keep in mind that a day might come when they may not be in power," Banerjee said.
Announcing the expulsion of Moitra in the alleged charge of "cash for parliament questions", Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said: "This House accepts the conclusions of the Committee that MP Mahua Moitra's conduct was immoral and indecent as an MP. So, it is not appropriate for her to continue as an MP."
"There is no evidence against me": Moitra
Addressing the media, Moitra said: "There is no evidence or any cash, any gifts anwhere. Expulsion is based on the ground that I have shared my Lok Sabha portal login. There are no rules to govern the share of the login. As the hearing of the Ethics Committee demonstrates, all of us MPs are conveyor belts to get questions from the public, from citizens to voice that in Parliament."
She also said that "tomorrow, the CBI will be sent to my house and I will harassed and will be harassed for next six months".
"I am 49 years old and i will fight you for next 30 years inside and outside Parliament. The Ethics Committee has no power to expel. You have assumed the power of the quasi authority. You have disregarded due process, and abused every tenet. This is the beginning of your (BJP) end. We are going to come back and we are going to see the end of yours (BJP)," Moitra said.
Following the expulsion of Moitra, opposition MPs, including CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, staged a walkout from the House.
Earlier in the day, the Ethics Committee tabled its report in Lok Sabha, recommending expulsion of Moitra as a MP and also asked for intense, legal and institutional inquiry by the government against her.
Moitra has been facing charges of alleged 'cash for parliament questions'. Birla had referred the complaint of BJP MP Nishiknat Dubey against Moitra to the Ethics Committee.
