Mahua Moitra’s renomination: Mamata sends a political message to BJP

In a move that signals Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee’s unwavering support to firebrand leader Mahua Moitra in the cash-for-query row, the former MP was renominated from the Krishnanagar Lok Sabha constituency on Sunday.

Moitra, who was expelled from the lower house in December following the recommendations of the parliament ethics committee, was featured in the TMC candidates list even as the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear her petition against the disqualification on Monday.

A bench of justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta had earlier refused to grant interim relief to Moitra, who had sought permission to attend the Lok Sabha proceedings till the final adjudication of her plea.

The TMC leader was accused of accepting bribe from business tycoon Darshan Hiranadani for asking questions in parliament targeting the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. She was also accused of compromising the national security by sharing the login details of her Lok Sabha account with Hiranandani, an “outsider”.

The allegations raised by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey were examined by the parliament’s ethics committee which subsequently recommended her expulsion from the house.

Moitra, a staunch critic of Modi and the BJP, admitted that she had shared her login details with Hiranandani, but dismissed allegations of a quid pro quo, saying the businessman has long been a close friend of her.

The chief minister had consistently extended her support to Moitra throughout the controversy and even appointed her as party’s Krishnanagar district chief in November amid the ethics panel’s probe.

Banerjee had termed Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha as the “murder of democracy”.

"It is a disgrace to parliamentary democracy. We condemn the expulsion of Mahua Moitra; the party stands firmly with her. Unable to defeat us in elections, the BJP has resorted to vendetta politics,” she had said, while asserting that Moitra would return to parliament with a stronger mandate.

“The BJP believes it can act with impunity due to its overwhelming majority. They should bear in mind that a day may come when they are no longer in power,” the chief minister had said.