Introduction

A Cash for Query scandal involves the exchange of money or financial incentives for parliamentary or legislative members to raise specific questions or issues during sessions or debates in Lok Sabha. In such situations, legislators are essentially accepting bribes or other financial inducements in return for using their positions to advance certain topics or concerns on behalf of individuals or organizations who have paid them. Within the legislative process, these unethical practices are generally considered a breach of trust and integrity which can lead to serious legal and political consequences for the concerned lawmakers.

Mahua Mitra Case

Mahua Moitra was a member of the Lok Sabha representing the Trinamool Congress party. On 3rd December this year, she was expelled from the membership of the 17th Lok Sabha in response to a report produced by the Ethics Committee of the lower house. The said proceedings were initiated when the Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament, Nishikant Dubey, representing the Godda constituency, sent a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, in which he alleged that the Trinamool Congress Member of Parliament, Mahua Moitra, had shared her official login credentials with Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani and received bribes in exchange for asking questions in Parliament related to the Adani Group and criticizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Dubey's claims were founded upon information given by a Supreme Court lawyer who provided irrefutable evidence of bribes between Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani, the CEO of the Hiranandani Group, operating in real estate business. The aforesaid matter was referred to the Lok Sabha ‘s Ethics Committee for detailed enquiry and recommendations accordingly. The three noted aspects of the report are as such:

1. Mahua Moitra was found guilty of unethical conduct and contempt of the House for sharing her Lok Sabha login credentials-user ID and password of the Lok Sabha membership portal-to an unauthorized person and its impact on national security. The report said,

“The serious misdemeanours on the part of Smt. Mahua Moitra calls for severe punishment. The Committee, therefore, recommends that Smt. Mahua Moitra, MP may be expelled from the membership of the 17th Lok Sabha. In view of highly objectionable, unethical, heinous, and criminal conduct of Smt. Mahua Moitra, the Committee recommended for an intense, legal, institutional inquiry by the Government of India in a time-bound manner.”

It was further stated by the panel that a “threadbare examination “had established beyond doubt that Moitra had “deliberately” shared her Lok Sabha login credentials with Hiranandani. “Therefore, Smt. Mahua Moitra is guilty of unethical conduct, breach of her privileges available to members of Parliament and contempt of the House.” The Committee also flagged a potential national security threat, “The highly objectionable and deplorable conduct of Smt. Mahua Moitra also has an impact on national security. However, the extent of national security was compromised by such irrepressible and reckless actions of Smt. Mahua Moitra could only be pragmatically quantified by undertaking a structured institution by the Government of India. Notwithstanding this, all the above narrated serious misdemeanours on the part of Smt. Mahua Moitra calls for severe punishment…”

2. The Committee also examined the alleged unethical conduct and contempt of the House committed by Moitra by accepting amenities and various other facilities from Hiranandani based in Dubai. According to the report, Moitra told the panel on November 2,2023 that she did take a few gifts, used Hiranandani's car and got the layout plans of her official bungalow prepared. The Committee said, “On this aspect, the Committee has also taken note of the contradiction between the versions of Smt. Mahua Moitra and Shri Darshan Hiranandani, as the former had claimed that these gifts, amenities, and facilities were given by the latter, whereas Shri Hiranandani, in his notarized affidavit had worded this as “she also made frequent demands of me and kept asking me for various favors.” The report also stated as such, “The Committee further notes that Smt. Mahua Moitra allegedly demanded favours including cash, expensive luxury items, providing support on renovation of her officially allotted bungalow in Delhi, travel expenses, holidays, etc. apart from seeking secretarial and logistical help for her travels within India and to different parts of the world. “ The panel was of the opinion that taking gifts and other facilities from a businessman, whom Moitra had handed over her official login credentials so that this businessman could “directly operate her member's portal” and post parliamentary questions, may be in small quantity or on a few occasions, but still amounted to illegal gratification and a “quid pro quo” which is not only “unbecoming” of an MP but also “unethical conduct.”

3. Commenting on the question of cash being exchanged, the Committee candidly pointed out that it did not have the technical wherewithal and expertise to criminally investigate and unearth the money trail, which it described as the task of central government institutions. “The Committee, therefore, recommends that the cash transaction between Smt. Mahua Moitra and Shri Darshan Hiranandani as a part of ‘quid pro quo’ could be investigated by the Government of India in a time-bound manner.

4. The report identified 47 logins from Dubai, the base of Darshan Hiranandani, using the same IP address. Further, out of 61 posted questions, 50 were deemed favouring Hiranandani ‘s business involving the Information Technology Act for fraudulent password sharing.

A Precedent of 2005

This is the second cash-for-query case in Parliament in two decades. A sting operation by online site Cobrapost on December 12, 2005, revealed 11 MPs accepting cash in exchange for raising questions in the Parliament. On December 24, 2005, Parliament voted to expel these eleven MPs-ten from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha.

The U.S. Parallel

Recently, on December 2,2023, a Republican Congressman George Santos was expelled from the US House of Representatives over criminal corruption charges and accusations of misspending campaign money. The House voted 311-114 for his immediate expulsion, making Santos only the sixth member in history to be expelled. In November, the House made a failed attempt to expel Santos. Later, a bipartisan Ethics Committee report came out which stated that he “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.” Among other things, it mentioned spa treatments worth $4,000, which were charged to his congressional campaign account.

Conclusion

It is generally said that Parliament is the temple of democracy. Parliament is a place where myriad problems of the people are discussed, and their remedies are sought by consensus. In this context, the members raise questions related to the people or the specific areas in the hope of receiving vital information from the government. This is deemed to be a genuine process to ensure better governance. If anything foul or demeaning is done on behalf of any member of Parliament or for that sake, any legislative wing, it should be considered as a direct attack on the sanctity of the democratic process. Such actions need to be condemned and appropriate legal action should be ensured. In this case, Smt. Mahua Moitra has approached the Supreme Court against her expulsion from the Lok Sabha. The Apex Court‘s verdict will further examine the issue. But there is no denying the fact that the sanctity of the Parliament and the democratic processes must be safeguarded by the members of Parliament at all costs.

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References: 

• BJP MP alleges Mahua Moitra took ‘bribes’ to ask questions in Parliament, TMC leader hits back, The Economic Times, October 16, 2023.
• Vrinda Tulsian, LS panel's report holds Moitra guilty, seeks time-bound probe, Hindustan Times, Dec 2, 2023.
• Ibid.
• Ibid.
• Ibid.
• Saubhadra Chatterji, Cash-for-queries charge: Lok Sabha expels Moitra, Hindustan Times, December 12, 2023.
• Arjun Sengupta, Only Sixth Time Since 1861: Why US Congress Expelled A Lawmaker December 4, 2023.