Kolkata: Months after the cash-for-query scam came to light, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated an inquiry against TMC MP Mahua Moitra, according to reports from news agency ANI on November 25th. The CBI will be investigating allegations that Moitra accepted bribes in exchange for raising questions in Parliament. The probe has been initiated at the direction of the Lokpal.
CBI sources stated, "We have initiated an enquiry on orders of Lokpal. We have not registered a Preliminary Enquiry or FIR against Mahua Moitra as yet." The CBI has registered a preliminary enquiry, the initial step to determine if the allegations warrant a full-fledged investigation. If enough prima facie material is found during the preliminary enquiry, it can be converted into an FIR. The CBI inquiry comes on the basis of a complaint from BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who accused Moitra of taking a bribe from businessman Hiranandani in exchange for "asking questions in Parliament."
Dubey had previously claimed that on November 8th, Lokpal "ordered a CBI enquiry against accused Mahua Moitra for indulging in corruption at the cost of national security." Simultaneously, the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha is also examining the allegations against the TMC leader. The Ethics Committee recommended the expulsion of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra from Parliament, citing "unethical conduct" jeopardizing national security. The committee's report indicated that Moitra shared her login credentials with unauthorized individuals, made multiple trips to the UAE, and her account was logged in 47 times from Dubai.
Moitra has acknowledged sharing credentials with Darshan Hiranandani. As a result, PAs of Lok Sabha MPs recently lost access to Digital Sansad login. In an interesting development, Darshan Hiranandani, an accused in the alleged scam, turned approver and accepted the allegations. In his affidavit, he stated that Moitra provided him with her Parliament username and password to post questions on her behalf. The IT ministry also reported sending a report to the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee confirming that Moitra's parliamentary ID was accessed 49 times from Dubai.
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