LS ethics committee has no criminal jurisdiction; will demolish all lies, says Mahua Moitra

Kolkata, Oct 31 (PTI) Senior TMC MP Mahua Moitra on Tuesday expressed her intention to challenge the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee during the November 2 session, aiming to refute all accusations targeted at her suspension while underscoring that the committee did not have criminal jurisdiction.

The committee, which is investigating allegations of financial impropriety related to parliamentary questions, summoned Moitra on Thursday and rejected her request for an extension until November 5.

Moitra said she will attend the committee session and affirmed her right to "cross-examine the fake complainant" and labelled the complaint as "utter rubbish." Stating that the committee was yet to establish a model code of conduct, Moitra said, "The committee hasn't had any meeting since 2021. It is yet to frame its model code of conduct. No parliamentary standing committee has criminal jurisdiction." "If there are any allegations of criminality, then law enforcement agencies need to investigate it. The Ethics Committee is not the right place to investigate someone's private matter," she said before leaving for New Delhi.

Regarding the recent controversy concerning alleged warnings from Apple about "state-sponsored attackers trying to remotely compromise" opposition leaders' iPhones, Moitra urged the Lok Sabha Speaker, as the custodian of the House, to take proactive action.

She decried the intrusion into MPs' phones and called for immediate intervention by the Speaker.

"It is very sad for the country that this government is being run by those who have been reduced to peeping toms. For most of us MPs, whose phones are being hacked, the Lok Sabha Speaker should take suo motu action. Rather, what we are seeing and are talking about is some parliamentary questions login, which is available to every private agency working for MPs," she said.

Moitra remained resolute in the face of efforts to suspend her, asserting her innocence. "The only thing they want is to silence me and suspend me. They can go on and write their fake reports, but the fact is they can't even touch my hair," she asserted.

Moitra said if she had accepted even a single rupee, the BJP would have promptly moved to have her incarcerated.

The Trinamool Congress, which has been maintaining silence on the issue, noted that Moitra had already clarified her stance concerning the bribery allegations and would now await the results of the committee's investigation. The party framed the issue as a matter concerning her rights and privileges.

Earlier, TMC minister Firhad Hakim suggested that the accusations against Moitra could be aimed at silencing her due to her outspoken criticism of the BJP government on multiple fronts. PTI PNT MNB