New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has confessed that she shared her Parliament login ID and password with her businessman friend Darshan Hiranandani, but denied taking any money or gifts from him in exchange for asking questions in the Lok Sabha. Moitra’s statement came after BJP MP Nishikant Dubey accused her of being involved in a ‘cash for query’ scam and lodged a complaint with the CBI and the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee.
Moitra, who represents the Krishnanagar constituency in West Bengal, told The Indian Express that she gave her login credentials to Hiranandani so that someone from his office could type and upload the questions on the Parliament website on her behalf. She said that she still had to approve the questions through an OTP (One-Time Password) that came on her mobile number, and that no one could upload any question without her knowledge.
Moitra also claimed that Hiranandani, who is the CEO of Hiranandani Group and the chairman of Yotta Data Services, H-Energy, Tarq Semiconductors, and Tez Platforms, did not mention any money in his affidavit to the Ethics Committee. She said that he was a big fan of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and had no connection with Adani Group, which was allegedly targeted by some of her questions.
Moitra further said that Hiranandani had given her a scarf from Hermes on her birthday and some makeup items from Dubai airport, which she had asked for. She said that he also arranged for a car to pick and drop her from the airport whenever she was in Mumbai or Dubai. She said that she was telling the truth about everything and that she did not take any money from him.
Moitra admitted that she made a mistake in choosing a personal relationship with Hiranandani and that she regretted it. She said that she often made mistakes in selecting people and hoped to learn soon.
Moitra has sought time till November 5 to appear before the Ethics Committee, which had summoned her on October 31 based on Dubey’s complaint. Dubey had alleged that Moitra took bribes from Hiranandani to ask questions related to Adani Group’s business interests in Parliament. He had also accused her of violating the oath of secrecy and breaching parliamentary privileges by sharing her login details with an outsider.
