New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, who stormed out of the Parliamentary Ethics Committee hearing earlier today, accompanied by Opposition members, has alleged that she was subjected to humiliating personal questions from the panel. The MP, battling cash for questions allegations, described the episode as "proverbial vastraharan (stripping)" -- in a reference to the chapter in Mahabharat, where Pandav queen Draupadi was humiliated by the Kuru clan in open court.
In a letter to Speaker Om Birla in the evening, she wrote that the Chairman of the Ethics Committee "subjected me to proverbial Vastraharan'.
The Ethics Panel has "no ethics or morality left", she added, accusing its chairman of "pre-conceived bias".
In the letter, she also mentioned that there is no regulation governing sharing of login and password. "Why were these rules not shared with MPs," she questioned.
Ethics panel chief -- BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar -- has focussed on Ms Moitra's personal relationship with Darshan Hiranandani, Opposition MPs who walked out of the hearing with Ms Moitra, told the media.
There were also questions on Jai Anant Dehadrai, on whose complaint to the Central Bureau of Investigation the entire case rests. When Ms Moitra had argued that it was all an outcome of a "sour personal relationship" the Committee said she should focus on the substantive part of the allegations.
Sources said the questions included how many times did you contact Mr Hiranandani in 2023, how many times did you visit Dubai' and which hotel did you stay (in Dubai)".
"What kind of meeting was this? They are asking all kinds of filthy questions," Ms Moitra, visibly upset, told reporters after walking out.
Mr Sonkar claimed Ms Moitra did not cooperate during her cross-examination.
"Mahua Moitra did not cooperate with the committee and the investigation. The Opposition members also made allegations in anger and suddenly walked out of the meeting to avoid answering more questions," Mr Sonkar said. "Objectionable words were used against the panel's functioning and me".
The Ethics Committee hearing was the fallout of a complaint by the BJP's Nishikant Dubey who alleged that Ms Moitra has accepted cash from Mr Hiranandani to ask questions in parliament on his behalf to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business rival Adani Group.
In a letter to Speaker Om Birla, he demanded her immediate suspension from parliament.
In an explosive affidavit, Mr Hiranandani admitted to posting questions on Mahua Moitra's parliamentary login, but remained silent on the cash-for-query issue.
He said he had given Ms Moitra gifts she demanded to stay in her good books and get her help to expand his business in Opposition-ruled states.
The MP, he said, wanted to politically target PM Modi through the Adani Group.
Ms Moitra posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Prime Minister's Office "held a proverbial gun" his head and made him sign the white paper – a claim Mr Hiranandani has denied.