On 2nd January, social media was abuzz with information about the second complaint filed by Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai against Trinamool Congress leader and expelled Lok Sabha MP, Mahua Moitra. In his complaint, Dehadrai accused Moitra of snooping over him. His assertions that Moitra was snooping on him were based on the alleged history of TMC leader snooping on her ex-partner and a German national working with Chinese company Byte Dance (owner of TikTok app).
In the complaint, three names stood out: one was of Caravan Magazine’s editor and Editor’s Guild’s President Anant Nath, and the second was of top lawyer Suhaan Mukerji, who was apparently Moitra’s ex-partner. The third name was Helena Lersch, the German national who was working with Byte Dance.
Who is Anant Nath?
Anant Nath has been an editor with The Caravan Magazine since December 2009. Furthermore, he also holds the position of Executive Publisher and Director at Delhi Press. Apart from these professional positions, Nath has been the Editors Guild of India president since 28th October 2023.
Per his LinkedIn profile, he got his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from Hansraj College in 2011, followed by an MBA in Marketing and Finance from IIM Lucknow in 2004 and an MA in Political Science and Government from Columbia University in 2005.
Anant Nath was booked for spreading fake news during farmer protests
In January 2021, Anant Nath was among the list of journalists and activists who were booked for spreading fake news about the death of a protester who died while doing stunts on a tractor. The accused allegedly shared fake reports that the protester died of a bullet injury after police opened fire at him. However, the allegations against the police were found to be false. Several FIRs against journalists and activists were booked for spreading fake news.
Nath was booked in an FIR in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and other states along with Rajdeep Sardesai, Shashi Tharoor, Mrinal Pandey, Zafar Afha, and Vinod Jose under 11 Sections of the Indian Penal Code, including Section 124A (sedition), 153-A (promoting enmity between groups), section 295A (deliberate and malicious act intended to outrage religious feelings), Section 504 (intentional insult), Section 506 (criminal intimidation) and Section 120B (criminal conspiracy to commit offence punishable by death).
Ironically, in a recent video for The Caravan, Nath criticised the new media laws while emphasising the “concerning extent of government control over online media”. He argued that it would lead to a “broader control” over all forms of media due to their online presence. He also criticised the media and judiciary for failing to safeguard Indian democracy in recent years. Furthermore, he accused the government of using central agencies to intimidate media houses.
His critical analysis of the media laws on the day Jai Anant Dehadrai filed a complaint against Mahua Moitra at CBI, where Nath was named as one of Moitra’s associates who “raided” Shangri La Hotel with her to “catch” her ex-partner red handed. On the one hand, Nath talks extensively about media freedom; on the other hand, he allegedly helped an MP snoop on two people, including a German national.
Mahuagate: Dehadrai’s complaint against Mahua on ‘cash for query’
On 14th October, the Indian political scene experienced a major tremor as BJP MP Nishkant Dubey wrote to the ethics committee seeking an inquiry against TMC MP Mahua Moitra in the ‘Cash for Query’ matter. He based his complaint on the letter written by Supreme Court lawyer Anant Dehadrai, who alleged that most of the questions asked by the TMC MP in Lok Sabha directly or indirectly benefit businessman Darshan Hiranandani.
Notably, Moitra has accepted that she had shared credentials with Darshan Hiranandani. Following this development, it was recently reported that PAs of Lok Sabha MPs have lost access to Digital Sansad login.
Meanwhile, it was also reported earlier that Darshan Hiranandani, an accused in this alleged scam, turned approver and accepted the allegations. In his affidavit, he said that Moitra gave him her Parliament username and password so he could post questions on her behalf. As reported earlier, the IT ministry had stated that it had sent a report to the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee confirming that the TMC leader’s parliamentary ID was accessed 49 times from Dubai. As reported earlier, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) initiated an inquiry against the TMC MP.
As a result of the allegations, Moitra was expelled from Lok Sabha on 8th December 2023.
