On Saturday (11th November), ‘journalist’ Rajdeep Sardesai courted controversy after he suggested that TMC MP Mahua Moitra was being targeted for being an ‘English speaking MP’. He made the contentious claims during his analysis of ‘MahuaGate’ on his YouTube channel.
“First Rahul Gandhi’s suspension and now Mahua Moitra’s likely expulsion. Is there an ominous message being sent out? If so, who is sending out this message?” the ‘journalist’ hinted at a larger conspiracy.
He then glossed over the TMC MP’s involvement in the ‘cash for query’ scandal and claimed, “Did Mahua Moitra become a target simply because she became a high profile English-speaking MP who made too many enemies too soon? Think about it.”
"Did Mahua Moitra become a target simply because she became a high profile English-speaking MP who made too many enemies?"
— BALA (@erbmjha) November 12, 2023
Had it been a BJP MP, @sardesairajdeep would have conducted media trials, but here he is making her a victim. pic.twitter.com/rU3JbNIyW6
Although Rajdeep Sardesai set out to unravel the ‘backstory’ of this high-profile scandal, he ended up painting the Trinamool Congress leader as a victim of political vendetta.
The ‘journalist’ tried to garner sympathy for Mahua Moitra by claiming that she chose to return to India and serve grassroots politics despite studying at an American University and working as an investment banker.
“Within months of entering the Lok Sabha, she made an instant impression. She quickly earned the reputation of being an effective public speaker, taking on the Narendra Modi government,” Rajdeep Sardesai heaped praise on Mahua Moitra for supposedly doing what other Opposition leaders had failed.
He claimed that the Trinamool Congress MP took the Adani Group head-on with ‘facts’ and was the only politician apart from Congress scion Rahul Gandhi to exhibit such political courage.
Rajdeep Sardesai raked up the issue of the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi and suggested that it could have been the consequence of his critical speeches and tweets against Indian businessman Gautam Adani.
The ‘journalist’ skirted over the fact that the Congress scion was disqualified for defaming the ‘Modi’ community. Nonetheless, he claimed, “Now Mahua Moitra is in danger of being expelled from Lok Sabha? Is there a connection?”
Rajdeep Sardesai attacks Darshan Hiranandani
In a bid to make a case for Mahua Moitra, Rajdeep Sardesai questioned the integrity of Darshan Hiranandani who turned approver in the ‘cash for query’ scandal involving the TMC MP.
“Why was Darshan Hiranandani not summoned by the ethics panel to explain his conduct? Why isn’t Darshan Hiranandani questioned before Mahua’s guilt is pronounced?” he asked.
“It is indeed this unusual haste with which this entire operation is being carried out…Actions cannot take place without a due process and not through media trial and not where an Ethics Committee instead of following principles of natural justice reduces itself to a Kangaroo court,” the ‘journalist’ insinuated a ‘witch-hunt’ against Mahua Moitra.
Lok Sabha Ethics Committee recommended the expulsion of Mahua Moitra
On 9th November, it came to light that the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee’s draft report accused Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra of “unethical conduct”. The report stated that she shared her login credentials with unauthorised individuals. The draft revealed that Moitra made multiple trips to UAE, and her account was logged in 47 times from Dubai. The Ethics committee sought a report on IP addresses and emphasised the legal consequences of the MP’s action.
Recommending Moitra’s expulsion, the report called it “unethical conduct” and “contempt of the House” while seeking a government inquiry into the matter. OpIndia accessed a portion of the report draft containing conversations between the committee members with Mahua Moitra and Danish Ali.
The discussion between the committee members and Mahua Moitra revolved around her foreign trips and where she stayed. The questions led to a heated exchange centred around the “appropriateness” of the questions. Moitra and the opposition leaders vehemently raised objections to the questions.
In the parts of the conversation that OpIndia accessed, Moitra accepted twice that she had shared credentials with Darshan Hiranandani. Agitated by the so-called “personal questions”, she said, “We are here to determine two things. Number one, whether I gave the login and password to Darshan Hiranandani, to which he had unauthorized access. I have already told you since 2019, he has had a person in his office typing my questions. The questions were mine but not unauthorized because it was my OTP. So he did not have access. The first question has already been answered.”
Moitra categorically refused to accept that she received kickbacks from Hiranandani in exchange for the questions asked in the Parliament. She claimed that the assertion that she received kickbacks was based on the ex-boyfriend’s complaint, referring to Supreme Court Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai.
The Background of the Controversy
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 Jai Anant Dehadrai, who alleged that most of the questions asked by the TMC MP in Lok Sabha directly or indirectly benefit businessman Darshan Hiranandani.
Dehadrai also accused Moitra of “kidnapping” his pet dog Henry, adding another layer of complications to Mahuagate. Moitra filed a case against Dubey and Dehadrai but never denied accepting gifts. Interestingly, she has also been accused of sharing her Lok Sabha credentials with Hiranandani so he can post questions independently.
Hiranandani has reportedly turned approver in the case and submitted an affidavit suggesting the allegations against Moitra are true. Dehadrai and Dubey were called to submit evidence of Moitra’s alleged wrongdoings in front of the ethics committee on 26th October.
When the Ethics Committee initially called Moitra, she refused, claimed to have prior engagements and sought another date. She got another date for the hearing, and on the day of the hearing, she played the victim card while coming out, claiming she faced “cheerharan” like Draupadi from Mahabharat. Meanwhile, Henry has been returned to Dehadrai.
