Role Of ‘Odisha MP’ In Mahua Moitra’s ‘Cash-For-Query’ Row Fuels Speculation

New Delhi: The ethics committee of Lok Sabha has called Bharatiya Janata Party (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 Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, reports said on Thursday.

Dubey has accused Moitra of having accepted ‘cash and gifts’ from a member of Darshan Hiranandani family to ask questions in Parliament on the basis of a letter he received from Dehadrai, who had filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), submitting a sworn affidavit that outlined what he described as “the commission of an elaborate criminal conspiracy” involving the MP and the CEO of the Hiranandani Group.

The complaint claims that Moitra and Hiranandani orchestrated a plan to specifically target Gautam Adani and his conglomerate of companies through a series of parliamentary questions. However, the Hiranandani Group has denied allegations of bribing the TMC MP. The Adani Group has also issued a statement, saying “some groups and individuals have been working overtime to harm our name, goodwill and market standing”.

Amid this furore, Moitra also filed a defamation suit on Tuesday against Dubey, Dehadrai and several news organisations in the Delhi high court for making “false and defamatory allegations” against her while asserting that the charges were based on a “jilted ex’s lies”.

Meanwhile, the incident is creating political ripples in Odisha due to the alleged involvement of an MP from the state. A post on X (formerly Twitter) claims 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.

It further mentions about purchase of some high-end items, including furniture, for Moitra by the same MP from Odisha, “who would then deduct the value from the cash kept with him for safekeeping”. The invoice was also in the name of the parliamentarian from Odisha, it added.