The Lok Sabha's ethics panel is scheduled to table a report on Mahua Moitra tomorrow, according to reliable sources. The report's findings, which are expected to address matters related to the TMC MP, will be presented as part of the panel's proceedings.
Opposition Members of Parliament (MPs) expressed surprise as the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee's report recommending the expulsion of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in a "cash-for-query" case was not tabled in the House, despite being listed on Monday's agenda. The report, scheduled for presentation after the Question Hour, remained unaddressed until around 1 pm when the House adjourned for lunch.
Upon the House's reassembly at noon, ministers presented papers and three reports on bills seeking to replace criminal laws, but the report on Mahua Moitra's expulsion was conspicuously omitted from the proceedings. Moitra, along with TMC leader Sudip Bandyopadhyaya, questioned the Chair about the oversight, with Congress's K Suresh and RSP's N K Premchandran echoing their concerns.
Later, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury acknowledged the absence of the report and speculated that the committee might have valid reasons for not tabling it on Monday. He expressed confidence that it would eventually be presented in the House, emphasising that there must be a compelling reason "forcing them" to withhold the report.
Moitra, when asked about the report, stated that she would reserve her comments until it is officially tabled. She highlighted the discrepancy, noting that if an item is listed as number five, parliamentary procedure typically involves its reading. The agenda paper for Monday indicated that Ethics Committee chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar was to lay the panel's first report on the table, detailing its recommendation for Moitra's expulsion based on the "cash-for-query" allegation.
Also read | Raghav Chadha's suspension from Rajya Sabha revoked
