New Delhi:
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has written to Electronics and IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, seeking an investigation to check if Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra’s Lok Sabha account was accessed from any location where she was not present.
In response, Ms Moitra has said parliamentary work of MPs is done by large teams and said the IT minister must release location and login details of all MPs.
All parliamentary work of MPs done by PAs, assistants, interns, large teams. Respected @ashwinivaishnaw please release details of location & login details of ALL MPs with CDRs . Please release info on training given to staff to login. pic.twitter.com/1Mz61LBjw3
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) October 16, 2023
This comes after the BJP MP alleged that Ms Moitra “took bribes” from businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for asking questions targeting Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament.
Mr Dubey has written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, accusing Ms Moitra of breach of parliamentary privilege, contempt of House and criminal conspiracy, and seeking her immediate suspension.
Ms Moitra has welcomed a probe. The Hiranandani Group has trashed the allegations, saying they have “no merit”.
In his letter to Mr Vaishnav, Mr Dubey has said the allegations against Ms Moitra are “serious”.
“The claim that the Member of Parliament representing Krishnanagar gave Darshan Hiranandani and the Hiranandani Conglomerate access to her login credentials for the Lok Sabha website so that they could utilise it for their own personal gain is possibly the most damning and grave of all the charges that are being made against her,” he has said.
“If the claims made above are found to be accurate, this constitutes a serious criminal breach of trust as well as a violation of India’s national security because it would give unauthorised individuals access to government websites that may contain classified information,” the BJP MP from Jharkhand’s Godda has added.
The BJP MP urged Mr Vaishnaw, who is also the Railways Minister, to initiate a probe to check if there are instances in which Ms Moitra’s Lok Sabha account was accessed at a location where she was not present. “In addition, I request that you determine whether there are any instances in which her Lok Sabha account was accessed at a location in which she was not present,” she said.
“Any attempt by a Member of Parliament to compromise the sanctity of our democratic temple by accepting monetary or other types of remunerative benefits in exchange for asking questions the benefit of a business house ought to be thwarted as quickly as possible and an investigation must be carried out and completed as promptly,” Mr Dubey has said in the letter dated October 15.
In response, Ms Moitra has said parliamentary work of MPs was handled by large teams comprising assistants and interns.
“All parliamentary work of MPs done by PAs, assistants, interns, large teams. Respected @ashwinivaishnaw please release details of location & login details of ALL MPs with CDRs. Please release info on training given to staff to login,” she posted on X.