Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday appeared to be referring to the controversy surrounding Mahua Moitra when he told a Calcutta rally that "Parliament's sanctity" was under assault from Trinamul MPs involved in "corruption", the first time someone from the BJP's top leadership had spoken about the cash-for-query fiasco.
Questioning Trinamul's ability to serve the interests of Bengal or the nation, Shah told the rally at Esplanade in the afternoon: “Friends, such a lot of corruption took place that even Parliament’s sanctity was finished by Trinamul MPs.”
“Taking gifts, accepting presents, the MP that asks questions and that party… could they ever do any good for Bengal or Bharat?” the BJP leader asked 15 minutes into his 23-minute speech that was peppered with attacks on chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her party. “Say it out aloud, is it possible for them?” Shah added.
This is the first time someone from the BJP's top two — Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Shah — had referred to in public the allegations levelled against Moitra, albeit indirectly and without taking any names.
In a post on X on Wednesday night, Moitra shared what appeared to be a cartoon of Shah and wrote: "Where's the josh, Bhai?"
Most of Shah’s talking points seemed to mirror the Bengal BJP’s political line. The Moitra issue has been repeatedly stressed by the state leadership, with the likes of Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, asserting that it should also be ensured that she is unable to contest any election for at least five years.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had last month submitted a complaint to the Lok Sabha Speaker against Moitra, accusing her of having accepted expensive gifts for posing questions in the House for industrialist Darshan Hiranandani to target the Adani group and the Prime Minister. The complaint was based on allegations levelled by Moitra’s former partner, Supreme Court advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai.
Moitra’s performance in the Lok Sabha, where she relentlessly flayed the Adani group and its alleged proximity to Modi, got shrouded in controversy after Dubey’s complaint. The Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee, which looked into the allegations, recommended Moitra’s expulsion from the House and an investigation against her.
Moitra has dismissed the decision as a “pre-fixed match by a kangaroo court”, deeming it a case of “death of parliamentary democracy”.
Trinamul’s top leadership — Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee — had remained silent for weeks in the initial stages of the controversy, with party spokespersons saying it was up to the MP herself to contest the charges.
This had triggered speculation whether Moitra enjoyed the backing of the party brass and prompted CPM and Congress leaders to ask tauntingly whether Trinamul planned to sacrifice the MP as part of a deal with Modi and Adani.
These theories received a jolt on November 10 when Abhishek questioned the ethics panel’s rationale in recommending Moitra’s expulsion. Within four days, Moitra received a further shot in the arm when she was appointed Trinamul district president for Krishnagar as part of an organisational reshuffle.
Last Thursday, Mamata broke her silence on the controversy with a statement of support for Moitra. At a party meeting in Netaji Indoor Stadium, the chief minister said: “Their plan now is to also throw Mahua out. That will make her more popular….”
“What she used to say inside, she will say outside. She will hold media conferences daily and say the same things outside Parliament. Done. How does it matter?” Mamata said. “Unless one is a murkho (moron), who does this, with barely three months left for the (general) elections?”
