Expelled Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra vacates Delhi bungalow
Former Lok Sabha MP and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mahua Moitra will reportedly vacate her government bungalow on Friday. The TMC leader received an eviction notice earlier this week ordering her to vacate the bungalow immediately. This comes more than a month after Moitra was expelled as a Lok Sabha MP for unethical conduct.
Why does this story matter?
On December 8, 2023, a Parliamentary panel found the TMC leader guilty of accepting expensive gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani and sharing her Parliament login credentials with him. The cash-for-query row began after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey alleged Moitra took bribes from Hiranandani to ask questions targeting PM Narendra Modi and the Adani Group in Parliament.
Moitra gets eviction notice with 'use of force' warning
Earlier this week, the Directorate of Estates issued a strongly worded notice to the expelled MP asking her to vacate the bungalow immediately. It also warned that Moitra and any other occupant "are liable to be evicted from the said premises, if need be, by the use of such force as may be necessary" in case the premises aren't vacated.
Delhi HC rejected stay order on Moitra's eviction notice
On Thursday, Moitra failed to get any relief from the Delhi High Court after it refused to stay the eviction notice from the Centre. The court directed her to vacate the bungalow. Justice Girish Kathpalia stated that no specific rule had been brought before the high court that dealt with the eviction of MPs from government accommodation after they ceased their role as lawmakers.
Moitra's cash-for-query row
In October last year, the TMC leader admitted sharing her Parliament login credentials with Hiranandani but claimed that "no rules prohibited it." Responding to allegations of accepting cash and gifts from the businessman, Moitra labeled them as frivolous. She cited instances where she logged in from Switzerland, and her sister's child logged in from Cambridge University.
No relief for Moitra from Supreme Court
Moitra moved the Supreme Court on December 11, arguing the Lok Sabha panel had no power to expel her and calling it a "kangaroo court." "The recommendation of expulsion was solely based on the complaint that I shared my login. But there is no rule whatsoever in this regard," she added. On January 3, the apex court denied considering her expulsion from the House.
