India: TMC MP Mahua Moitra admits sharing Parliament login credentials with businessman friend

An Indian Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra from the Trinamool Congress party (TMC) has found herself at the centre of a controversy surrounding the sharing of her Parliament login credentials with a businessman friend. In a big expose on Friday (Oct 28), Moitra claimed that she indeed provided her login ID and password to a businessman friend to allow submission of her pre-approved questions which she intended to ask in the lower house of Parliament.

This revelation is followed by a series of allegations against the MP that go far beyond just accusations of passwords sharing.

The controversy was initially ignited when Nishikant Dubey, an MP of the ruling BJP, alleged in a letter to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla that Moitra had accepted "bribes" in exchange for posing questions in Parliament, especially targeting the rival Adani Group. Post the grave allegations, the row has been referred to as "cash-for-query".

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Dubey levelled the allegations citing documents shared by Lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai.

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Moitra's statements to India Today contradict the claims put forth by her businessman friend, Darshan Hiranandani, who resides in Dubai.

Hiranandani had previously issued a "sworn affidavit" in which he asserted that Moitra had supplied him with her Parliament login and password to post questions on her behalf.

The ensuing controversy has drawn significant attention and raised questions about the use of Parliament credentials for submitting questions to be asked in India's legislative body.

While confirming her much-debated act of password sharing, the TMC MP said that this was done to have someone from Hiranandani's office type in the questions she intended to ask in the Lok Sabha.

Rebutting claims by Hiranandani, Mahua Moitra clarified that thearrangement was for her team to type the questions and for her to verify and submit them.

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"Someone in Darshan Hiranandani's office typed the question which I gave on the Parliament website. After putting the question, they would call me to inform and I would read all the questions in one go as I am always busy in my constituency. After putting the question, an OTP (one-time password) comes on my mobile phone. I would give that OTP and only then is the question submitted. So, the idea that Darshan would log in to my ID and put in questions of his own is ludicrous," the lawmaker said during the interview.

In response to allegations from the BJP MP, the TMC leadersaid,"Now that the cash-for-query has fallen flat, this is being made out to be some great issue of national security. Mr. Dubey has gone to the press and said that it is a national security issue. The NIC login has no rules as to who can have your login."

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"BJP claims I have given my Parliament login to a foreign entity. Darsh is my friend and holds an Indian passport. BJP also claims Darshan logged in from Dubai. I myself have logged in from Switzerland. If the NIC question and answer is so protected, why don't you put restrictions on IP addresses entering it?," she added.

Request for additional time

Mahua Moitra has requested more time to appear before the ethics committee. She cited prior commitments related to Vijaya Dashami meetings scheduled between October 30 and November 4 as the reason for her unavailability on October 31.

Additionally, she called for Darshan Hiranandani to be present before the ethics panel and provide a "verified list" of all alleged gifts and favours she claimed to have received from him.

(With inputs from agencies)

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