'TMC Stands with Her', 'Imminent to Restore Credibility': How Parties Reacted to Moitra’s Expulsion as MP

TMC leader Mahua Moitra with party MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay, Congress MP Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders after being expelled by the Lok Sabha on December 8. (Image: PTI/Vijay Verma)

Oindrila Mukherjee, News18.com & PTI, DECEMBER 08, 2023, New Delhi : A motion recommending TMC leader Mahua Moitra's expulsion was passed in Parliament, with Speaker Om Birla saying the House accepts the conclusions of the Lok Sabha ethics committee report tabled by chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar

“Shame on BJP” — West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s immediate reaction to TMC leader Mahua Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha on Friday was countered by the BJP’s reaction that her ouster would go a long way in restoring the “credibility of the institution”.

A motion recommending Moitra’s expulsion was passed in Parliament, with Speaker Om Birla saying the House accepts the conclusions of the Lok Sabha ethics committee report tabled by chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar. “…This House accepts the conclusions of the Committee that MP Mahua Moitra’s conduct was immoral and indecent as an MP. So, it is not appropriate for her to continue as an MP…” he said.

While Moitra raged on about how the ethics panel did not have the power to expel her, opposition members, including the Gandhis, stood behind her. Equating her own expulsion to a “hanging by a kangaroo court”, the TMC leader said it is the “weaponisation” of a parliamentary committee.

“The Ethics Committee has no power to expel….This is the beginning of your (BJP) end,” Moitra said.

She added: “…If this Modi government thought that by shutting me up they could do away with the Adani issue, let me tell you this that this kangaroo court has only shown to all of India that the haste and the abuse of due process you have used demonstrates how important (Gautam) Adani is to you. And to what length you will go to harass a single woman MP into shutting her into submission…”

Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who sought for more time to discuss the ethics committee report against Moitra, said her expulsion was done with a “sentiment of revenge”.

Interestingly, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, the man responsible for the filing the allegations in the cash-for-query row as a complaint, refused to make a comment.

Here are the reactions that came in thick and fast as Moitra walked out of Parliament, supported by the opposition that staged a walkout:

What the BJP said

BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya posted his sentiments on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, saying Moitra had become the face of “impropriety” in Parliament and her expulsion was imminent to restore the credibility of the institution. Calling her a “delinquent MP”, he said it was Mamata Banerjee’s “patronage and selective support” that should be questioned. He accused the chief minister of snooping on Moitra and said she was aware of everything that the first-time MP was up to. He also called for Moitra to be sacked by the TMC.

“…But it is Mamata Banerjee’s patronage and selective support for the delinquent MP that must be questioned. She had the state CID snooping on her so she was aware of everything Mahua Moitra was up to. Did she wilfully allow the MP to undermine the institution of Parliament to exercise leverage on corporate houses? What did the poor of Bengal gain? Poor have lost their land and acres of mango groves to Mamata Banerjee’s corporate friends. And the people of Krishnanagar, the constituency Mahua Moitra was elected from, suffered, since no one raised their issues. We now know what her priorities were! Mamata Banerjee must sack Mahua Moitra from the TMC, failing which it would be obvious that she was acting at her behest. Anyway, nothing moves in the TMC without Mamata Banerjee’s consent and active collusion,” Malviya posted.

Parliamentary affairs minister Pralhad Joshi, who forwarded the motion in the Lok Sabha, said: “In 2005, when 10 MPs were expelled, at the time the report was presented on the same day…”

West Bengal BJP chief Sukanta Majumdar also reiterated how the Congress had suspended 10 MPs in one day. He said Moitra’s expulsion is not the first in West Bengal’s history. He said the TMC leader should have presented her case in front of the ethics committee without running away.

“…The accused can never present his side in the Lok Sabha, if the accused has to present the side it has to be in front of the ethics committee. Mahua Moitra was called before the committee. She presented her side for some time. Later, when she had to answer the questions, she could not answer and ran away… If you had to give any answer, you should have given it in front of the committee…” he said.

Another BJP MP from West Bengal, Locket Chatterjee said: “There should be no politics on the issue of national security.”

Another BJP MP Aparajita Sarangi, who tabled the report alongside Sonkar and is also a member of the ethics committee, said: “This is a lesson to all MPs, when we become MPs, we take an oath, we’re supposed to follow certain rules…the whole country is watching us…In Mahua Moitra’s case, immorality was visible…this is the reason why she was expelled from Lok Sabha… I am also a woman, I want to say that whether woman or man, we all are MPs…as per the system, both women and men MPs need to work…Mahua Moitra has done unethical conduct, so it should be condemned. If opposition is standing with her then they are supporting a wrong thing.”

Union minister Subhas Sarkar said: “… In a day, her (Mahua Moitra) portal was launched in four places in the world — Delhi, Bengaluru and outside the country, Dubai and the US, and for whom? For a corporate house and a businessman.”

What the TMC said

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee condemned the decision to expel Moitra, dubbing the move as betrayal of parliamentary democracy. “It is a shame for parliamentary democracy. We condemn the way Mahua Moitra was expelled; the party stands with her. They (the BJP) can’t defeat us in the election, so they have resorted to vendetta politics. It is a sad day and the betrayal of Indian parliamentary democracy,” she said.

The TMC boss said the BJP did not allow Moitra to explain her stand. “But, she (Moitra) will return to Parliament with a bigger mandate. The BJP thinks the party can do whatever it wants as they have a brute majority. They must keep in mind that a day might come when they may not be in power,” she added.

Bengal minister and TMC leader Dr Shashi Panja said the BJP was foolish to think that this action would mute Moitra. “…A woman in power is something that the BJP cannot tolerate… How did they think this expulsion was enough to mute her; just because she spoke against the BJP? In 2024, she will contest the elections,” she said.

Among opposition MPs who walked out when Moitra was expelled, Sudip Bandyopadhyay said justice has been denied to Moitra. ” …They did not let us speak…they tried to muffle the democratic tradition…parties of INDIA alliance came together on this…” he added.

What the opposition said

Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who was by far the most vocal on the day, said: “This was done based on baseless facts and with a sentiment of revenge.”

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who is part of the INDIA bloc, took a dig at the BJP on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, and said the saffron camp should hire a consultant to do away with members of the opposition. “The ruling party should hire a consultant to take away the membership of the opposition, so that their time is not spent on conspiratorial activities but on public interest works. If the basis on which membership of MPs is being taken away is applied to the ruling party, then perhaps only one or two of their MPs/MLAs will be left in the House…” he posted in Hindi.

Another member of the ethics committee, who had walked out with Moitra on the day of the hearing as well, BSP MP Danish Ali had hung a poster around his neck saying: ‘Don’t turn victim into culprit’. “I’ve put this (poster) because the committee also mentioned me in its recommendation because I want to bring her justice… She wasn’t given an opportunity…” he added.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore said: “New parliament and new rules. Whoever speaks against Adani, they will be silenced; Mahua Moitra is a perfect example of this. She was not allowed to speak at all in Parliament… she was not given a chance to speak her side… this is a planned political conspiracy… democracy failed today… it is a black day for democracy… this is like a third emergency…”

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said: “…So the committee came to a conclusion that she is a criminal but in the next line, the committee recommends for an intense legal institutional inquiry by Government of India in a time-bound manner. After finding somebody criminal, why are you asking for an inquiry? This recommendation itself is completely contradictory… the person who drafted it has to read it again…”

Former Jammu and Kashmir CM Mehbooba Mufti also expressed her sentiments on social media. “Its a sad day for the world’s largest democracy when a brilliant feisty parliamentarian like Mahua Moitra is harassed to no ends, slandered and eventually expelled from Parliament in an utter disregard for the due process. This is the price she paid for speaking truth to power,” she posted on X.

Congress MP Rajni Patil said: “A parliamentarian is not limited to a constituency… If they are criticising, a complete inquiry should be conducted, proof should be given and then a decision should be taken… This government’s behaviour is — ‘You show me the person and I will show you the rule’. Different rules are set for different people…”

JMM MP Dr Mahua Maji said: “The way this is done is undemocratic. The allegations against her have not been proven yet. This is a part of a conspiracy to silence the Opposition.”

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said: “Decision was taken based on the statement of the person who levelled the allegation. It is against the natural course of justice…”

“Everyone knows that she has been vehemently attacking Adani and the PM, and that is the reason why she has been expelled without any justifiable reason,” said RSP MP NK Premachandran on the expulsion.

The CPI(M) said Moitra’s expulsion is a “black day”. Describing the action against her as “overactiveness”, central committee member Sujan Chakraborty said it is a display of the BJP’s use of its brute majority in the Lok Sabha. “It is a black day for the Parliament,” he told PTI.

Claiming that it is an act of “injustice”, Chakraborty said Moitra was not given a chance to cross-examine the complainant, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey.