New Delhi: Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has submitted a privilege notice to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against three senior Nadia district officials, accusing them of violating parliamentary protocol and behaving in a contemptuous manner after she was directed to vacate a circuit house in Krishnanagar late on August 14, PTI reported.
The notice, filed on August 16 under Rule 222 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, names Nadia District Magistrate Srikant Palli, Additional District Magistrate Nirpendra Singh and Nazareth Deputy Collector Anamika Bera.
Moitra, who represents Krishnanagar, alleged that the incident formed part of a wider attempt to obstruct her work as a parliamentarian. She asked the Speaker to ensure that she could discharge her constitutional responsibilities “free of intimidation and harassment.”
Notice Before Her visit
Moitra said she had informed Birla on August 13, before travelling back to West Bengal following the Monsoon Session, about her proposed visit to the constituency. She also requested protection against any possible harassment or obstruction.
According to her notice, she arrived at the Nadia Circuit House, the designated accommodation for MPs visiting the district headquarters, at about 6.15 pm on August 14. She was allotted her regular room, which had already been prepared.
“Tea was served in my room at 7 pm and dinner was served at 9.20 pm in the room,” she stated.
However, at 9.47 pm, the Nadia additional district magistrate allegedly telephoned her and asked her to vacate the circuit house. When she sought to know the reason, the official reportedly said that the “order had come from the top”, indicating the district magistrate.
At 10.52 pm, Moitra said, the Nazareth deputy collector sent her a WhatsApp message attaching an order dated August 12. The order announced that the circuit house would remain unavailable from the evening of August 14 until further instructions due to annual maintenance and cleaning.
The administrative order stated that reservations confirmed before August 13 would not be affected by the suspension.
Questions Over The Order
Moitra questioned why the administration waited until late at night to ask her to leave when the order had allegedly been issued two days earlier.
She said neither the booking staff nor the officials informed her about the suspension when she reserved the room or checked in. Instead, she was provided with an operational room and served meals there, she claimed.
The TMC MP further alleged that four rooms in the circuit house were occupied that night. She said the occupants included the Nazareth deputy collector, the Nadia project director, an IAS probationer and another government official.
Moitra claimed that circuit house employees told her that no cleaning or maintenance activity was taking place, apart from the installation of a water-iron removal plant outside the building. She also said the kitchen and other staff remained fully functional.
She objected to the method used to communicate the order, pointing out that it was neither sent to her by email in advance nor put up at the reception desk. Instead, she received it through WhatsApp at 10.52 pm, she said.
“No alternate arrangement” was offered to her, according to the notice.
Moitra also referred to the presence of a crowd outside the circuit house later that night. She said she heard people shouting at around 11 pm.
The circuit house stands opposite the official residences of the district magistrate and the superintendent of police. Moitra said the location was a high-security area and questioned how a crowd could be allowed to assemble there.
Protocol & Security Concerns
In her complaint, Moitra cited the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Order of Precedence, under which MPs are ranked at number 21. She argued that an MP visiting her constituency is entitled to accommodation at the circuit house and cannot be asked to leave unless the premises are required by a dignitary placed higher in the order of precedence.
“A woman MP, staying alone, being asked to vacate her rightful accommodation at 9.47 pm and then again at 10.52 pm not only gravely violates her rights, but brings into question the safety and security accorded to women by the ruling dispensation,” she said.
Moitra also recalled that she had filed another privilege notice on July 5 against the Krishnanagar superintendent of police and other police officers over an alleged incident of targeted physical violence by BJP members on July 1. She claimed that the earlier complaint had not resulted in any action.
She requested the Lok Sabha Speaker to take immediate cognisance of the latest notice and refer it to the Privileges Committee for proceedings against the three district officials.
As a temporary measure, Moitra asked the West Bengal chief secretary to direct the Nadia district administration to ensure that she receives all protocol facilities entitled to MPs, including permission to stay at the circuit house during her visits to Krishnanagar.
Two days earlier, Moitra had written separately to Birla about the incident. In that letter, she alleged that she was made to leave the circuit house late at night while a crowd gathered outside and shouted slogans.
The Krishnanagar MP has been involved in several protests and confrontations in Nadia since the Trinamool Congress lost the West Bengal Assembly elections.
On June 13, BJP Mahila Morcha workers gathered outside the Krishnanagar district court with eggs and tomatoes before Moitra was scheduled to appear in a case.
On July 1, Moitra alleged that BJP workers threw eggs, vegetables and stones at a TMC office in Nadia while she was attending a party meeting. The BJP denied involvement and attributed the incident to internal factionalism within the TMC.