Bhubaneswar: Odisha unit of BJP on Friday trained its gun on BJD MP from Puri Pinaki Misra after his name surfaced in the ‘cash-for-query’ row, involving fellow parliamentarian from Trinamool Congress Mahua Moitra.
Addressing a presser, BJP leader Manoj Mohapatra questioned the ‘close relations’ between the MPs as mentioned in the affidavit submitted before the Ethics Committee of Parliament by CEO of real estate-to-energy group Hiranandani, Darshan Hiranandani.
“I felt that, through her, I would get support in other States ruled by the Opposition, because she bonded extremely well with other leaders of the Opposition like Mr Gandhi, Shashi Tharoor and Pinaki Mishra, with whom also she shared close relations,” Hiranandani had said in the affidavit while corroborated BJP legislator Nishikant Dubey’s claims about Maoitra receiving money and gifts for posing certain questions in Parliament.
While flashing a picture of the MPs at Parliament and citing media reports, Mohapatra alleged that Moitra is known to lead a luxurious life and the Puri MP, who is BJD’s parliamentary party leader in Lok Sabha, has become her current account.
He also mentioned about purchase of high-end items, including furniture, for Moitra and the invoice being in the name of the parliamentarian from Odisha. “Does his involvement in the scam not amount to anti-people activities? If the answer is an yes then the BJD president and CM Naveen Patnaik should immediately expel him from the party.”
The BJP also demanded an investigation by the EOW in the matter.
While Pinaki Mishra is yet to respond to these allegations, the BJD has so far been keeping mum.
A recent post on X (formerly Twitter) claimed that Rs 2 crore in cash was paid by Hiranandani to Moitra in May 2021, specifically for targeting Gautam Adani and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha, in the international press and to file complaints to statutory authorities in India such as SEBI, ED, DRI, Income Tax. “This tranche of Rs 2 crore in cash was made via Hawala channels to a very close associate of Mahua Moitra, also a member of Parliament from Orissa with whom the funds were ultimately kept for safekeeping,” a cutting of the purported complaint posted by The Hawk Eye said.
Also Read: Role Of ‘Odisha MP’ In Mahua Moitra’s ‘Cash-For-Query’ Row Fuels Speculation
While the ethics committee of Lok Sabha has called BJP lawmaker Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai on October 26 for a oral evidence hearing in connection with their “cash for query” allegations against the TMC MP, Hiranandani on Thursday turned approver and confirmed the charges levelled against her.
The Lok Sabha ethics committee has also confirmed having received his affidavit in which the businessman claimed that Moitra made frequent demands of him and asked him for various favours, including expensive luxury items. He also alleged the MP had given him her Parliament login credentials and that she saw attacking the Adani Group as a way to become famous.
The TMC MP from Krishnanaga, on the other hand, alleged that the Prime Minister’s Office forced the businessman to sign a white paper that “was leaked to the media”. She has also filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court against Dubey, Dehadrai and various media organisations over “false and defamatory allegations” against her.
Meanwhile, Dehadrai, based on whose letter the BJP lawmaker Dubey urged the Lok Sabha Speaker to establish an inquiry against Moitra while calling for her suspension from the House, claimed that attempts were made to “coerce” him to withdraw his complaint to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Moitra’s defamation plea over ‘cash-for-query’ allegations against her was also postponed to October 31 after her lawyer withdrew from the case citing a ‘conflict of interest’. The withdrawal came after the court was informed by advocate Dehadrai that Moitra’s lawyer Gopal Sankarnarayan contacted him over phone on Thursday night for withdrawing his complaint to the CBI against the Trinamool leader.
