Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has agreed to appear before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on Thursday over cash-for-query allegations against her, but wondered if the parliamentary committee has the jurisdiction to probe the criminality charges against her.

In a letter to Lok Sabha Ethics Committee chairman Vinod Kumar Sonkar, she said she will respect the panel’s summons and appear before it on November 2. She said she was also surprised that her request to appear before the committee after November 5 due to her pre-fixed engagements was not accepted.

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She said the privileges and ethics branch of Lok Sabha had summoned BJP MP Ramesh Biduri on a complaint of hate speech against him by a member of the committee, Danish Ali, on October 10 last year, but did not insist on his attendance when he pleaded he was campaigning in Rajasthan.

“No further date of his hearing has been given so far. I wish to place on record that these double-standards reek of political motives and do little to enhance the credibility of the Privileges and Ethics branch,” Moitra said in the letter.

Raising the issue of jurisdiction of the committee to go into the allegations of criminality, the Krishnanagar MP said “there is also the question whether the Ethics Committee is the appropriate forum to examine allegations of alleged criminality”.

“This can only be done by law enforcement agencies. This check was specifically created by our nation’s founders to prevent even the slightest misuse of committees by governments enjoying brute majority in Parliament,” she pointed out.

“In addition, if the Ethics Committee seeks a report from any department and wishes to rely on any such report (as per the chairperson’s statement to the media), I should be given a copy of the report and allowed further to cross-examine the department concerned,” she wrote. 

In her letter to the committee chairman, Moitra demanded that she be allowed to cross-examine businessman Darshan Hiranandani and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai who had made the allegations of ‘cash for query’ against her.

The MP said complainant Dehadrai has “provided NO documentary evidence to back his allegations in either his written complaint and neither could he provide any evidence in his oral hearing. In keeping with the principles of natural justice, I wish to exercise my right to cross-examine Shri Dehadrai”.

“In light of the seriousness of the allegations, it is imperative that the alleged ‘bribe-giver’ Shri Darshan Hiranandani, who has given a suo moto affidavit to the committee with scant details, and no documentary evidence whatsoever, be called to depose before the committee and provide the said evidence in the form of a documented itemised inventory with amounts, date etc.

“I wish to place on record that I am requesting the committee to answer in writing and place on record their decision to either allow or disallow such cross-examination,” she said.