‘Proverbial vastraharan' at ethics panel meet: Mahua Moitra writes to Lok Sabha Speaker

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, who stormed out of a parliament ethics committee meeting along with other opposition members, shot off a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging that she was subjected to humiliation at the meeting.

Moitra had appeared before the panel to depose herself over the cash-for-query allegations levelled against her by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.

The MP walked out of the meeting along with other opposition members, accusing panel chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar of asking personal and unethical questions.

In her letter to the Speaker, Moitra alleged that Sonkar, instead of asking questions pertinent to the matter, exhibited a preconceived bias by questioning her in a malicious and defamatory way.

"I write to you in great anguish today to update you on the unethical, sordid, and prejudiced behaviour meted out to me at the hearing of the Ethics Committee by the Chairman. I have been subjected to the proverbial 'vastraharan' by him in the presence of all members of the Committee," she said, adding that the ethics committee has “no ethics or morality left”.

‘Vastraharan’ is a reference to the Mahabharata where Pandava’s wife Draupadi was humiliated by Kauravas in open court.

The TMC MP claimed that five of the 11 members present at the meeting walked out and boycotted the proceedings in protest at his “shameful conduct”.

In her letter, Moitra, who is accused of sharing her Lok Sabha account log-in details with businessman Darshan Hiranandani, noted that there is no regulation governing sharing of login and password.

"Why were these rules never given to MPs and if they were why is every single MP sharing this id and login with numerous people?" she asked.

Earlier, while deposing herself before the panel, pleaded innocence to the allegations against her and said the charges are motivated by animus of advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai—who allegedly provided evidence against the TMC MP—after she broke her personal relations with him, PTI reported quoting sources.

Dubey had accused the TMC MP of compromising national interest by sharing her parliamentary portal log-in and password with an outsider.

Both Dubey and Dehadrai have already deposed before the ethics panel.