Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday barged out of the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee meeting along with some opposition members as she alleged that she was asked “objectionable” questions over the cash-for-query charges against her.   

Coming out of the meeting, Moitra and BSP MP Danish Ali expressed anger at  the kind of ‘improper’ questions asked by the parliamentary panel members.   

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Committee chairman Vinod Sonkar, however, refuted the charges and said, “Instead of giving answers, she (Moitra) got angry and used unparliamentary language for the chairperson and pabnel members. Danish Ali, Girdhari Yadav (Janata Dal-United) and other opposition MPs also tried to accuse the committee and walked out.”

“The committee will sit and decide further action,” he said, adding that irrelevant charges were made against the panel while it had only asked questions connected with the charges against her.

Another committee member, BJP’s Aparajita Sarangi said the committee’s proceedings are confidential, but Moitra spoke about them outside the committee. Her conduct was condemnable, she said.

“Moitra used unparliamentary words for the chairman and members of the committee. You can hear the verbatim recording. The chairman was asking about the contents in the affidavit of businessman Darshan Hiranandani and there was a ruckus created by her and opposition members,” she said.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who had complained to the ethics committee against the TMC MP, said, “I and Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai went to the panel as witnesses, and Moitra went as an accused. However, she gave interviews and quoted what happened inside the committee of ethics. She tried to set a wrong narrative in the public. What happened today is the darkest day of parliamentary history.”

On the ethic panel’s proceedings, Congress MP Uttam Kumar Reddy said, “BJP bigwigs and the top guys in the government are targeting her (Moitra) because she is continuously exposing Adani.”

“We feel it is not a good thing in parliamentary democracy to target an MP, that to a very talented woman MP and a very good speaker, just because she opposes you on some issues,” he argued.

“We have been raising our stand both inside and outside the ethics committee and all of opposition MPs felt that in the cross-examination, there was persistent objectionable and undignified questioning. So Moitra and the five opposition MPs decided that it is not fair and we walked out of the meeting,” Reddy added.