Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra on Friday said the Narendra Modi government cannot shut her into submission, moments after she was expelled from the Lok Sabha over cash-for-query allegations against her.

“If this Modi government thought that by shutting me up they could do away with the Adani issue, let me tell you this that this kangaroo court has only shown to all of India that the haste and the abuse of due process you have used demonstrates how important Adani is to you. And to what length you will go to harass a single woman MP into shutting her into submission…” she told reporters outside Parliament.

“The Ethics Committee has no power to expel….This is the beginning of BJP’s end,” she added.

Stepping out of Parliament, Moitra said this was a kangaroo court.

“The #EthicsCommittee has no power to expel….This is the beginning of your(BJP) end,” says #MahuaMoitra after her expulsion from the LoK Sabha.#cashforqueryrow #ParliamentWinterSession#thestatesman pic.twitter.com/RvXcKVI0Bb

— The Statesman (@TheStatesmanLtd) December 8, 2023

“Since I was not allowed to speak outside parliament, I am taking this opportunity to speak outside it. I thank my INDIA alliance colleagues…as the hearing of the ethics committee demonstrates, all of us MPs are conveyor belts to get questions from the people to the parliament. If the Modi government hopes that by shutting me up it can forget the Adani issue, then it is mistaken.”

Moitra was surrounded by several opposition leaders including Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and BSP leader Danish Ali.

The opposition leaders including those from Moitra’s own party TMC, hit out at the government over the expulsion.

“This Lok Sabha has also seen the weaponization of a Parliamentary Committee. Ironically, the ethics committee was set up to serve as a moral compass for members. Instead, it has been abused egregiously today to do exactly what it was never meant to do. Which is to bulldoze the opposition and become another weapon to ‘Thok Do’ us into submission…

“The findings are based solely on the written testimonies of two private citizens whose versions contradict each other in material terms none of whom I was allowed to cross-examine. One of the two private citizens is my estranged partner who with malified intention masqueraded as a common citizen in front of the committee. The two testimonies have been used to hang me, they are polar opposites to each other…,” Moitra said.

The TMC MP from Krishnanagar is accused of sharing her login credentials and password with an unauthorised person and thus exhibiting unethical conduct and contempt of the House.