Mahua Moitra Faces Membership Loss Amid Cash-for-Questions Scandal

BJP MPs, led by Nishikant Dubey, have sought the suspension of Mahua Moitra from Parliament. They refer to an incident from 2005 in their written request, where 11 MPs faced the possibility of losing their seats. In this case, six members of the BJP were also involved. Now, Mahua Moitra is embroiled in this controversy.

A Scandal That Shakes the Political Landscape

A scandal has once again cast a shadow over the country’s politics, involving alleged bribery to ask questions in Parliament. This controversy involves TMC MP Mahua Moitra, who is accused of accepting money from businessman Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for raising questions in Parliament.

How the Tables Have Turned

While the BJP made multiple efforts to save its own MPs from a similar situation in the past, their attempts were not successful. However, now, the BJP has raised a strong voice against Mahua Moitra and has demanded her suspension from Parliament. Instead of questioning her in Parliament as it happened in the past, this case has led to allegations of financial impropriety involving Dubai businessman Darshan Hiranandani.

Darshan Hiranandani Acknowledges the Matter

Darshan Hiranandani has accepted the allegations made by Darshan Hiranandani in 2005 when a video surfaced showing 11 MPs accepting money. This video came to light on December 12, 2005, and led to the expulsion of all 11 MPs from their parliamentary positions.

11 Members Expelled, Parliament Rocked

Eleven members had their memberships revoked, creating uproar in Parliament. Six BJP MPs and three BSP MPs were disqualified, while Laloo Prasad Yadav’s party had one Congress MP and one member of the Rajya Sabha among them. The BJP had Vajpayee, Chhatrapal Singh Lodha, Annasaheb MK Patil, Chandraprakash Singh, Pradeep Gandhi, Suresh Chandel, BSP’s Narendra Kumar Kushwaha, Lal Chand Kol, and Raja Ram Pal. Two other Congress members were Ram Sevak Singh and the RJD’s Manoj Kumar. Of these, Lodha was a Rajya Sabha member; the rest were Lok Sabha members.

Parliament in Turmoil – Speaker Suspended the MPs

This event, which caused a ruckus in Parliament, took place when the Lok Sabha Speaker was Somnath Chatterjee, who later formed a committee to investigate the matter after viewing the video. The report was submitted later when the issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by Pranab Mukherjee, who was a senior leader in the Congress party at that time. Former PM Manmohan Singh suggested that this issue should be referred to the Ethics Committee within ten days to remove the 11 MPs from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

BJP’s Protest and Boycott of Voting

During this time, opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani vehemently opposed the suspension and even boycotted the process. He suggested that these members had foolishly engaged in corruption during parliamentary proceedings. This issue also went to court, and the Supreme Court intervened against the Parliament’s decision. In January 2007, the Supreme Court stayed the decision.

Delhi Police’s Arrest of Journalists Aniruddha Bahal and Suhasini Raj

Delhi police arrested two journalists, Aniruddha Bahal and Suhasini Raj, initially. However, the court later declared them innocent and stated that they could not implicate anyone in a ‘sting operation’.