Defiant Mahua Moitra claims to have turned down 2 Adani offers for truce

Beleaguered Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra, accused of allegedly accepting cash and gifts to ask questions in Parliament to defame the Adani Group and the prime minister, finally hinted on Saturday, 21 October, that she has turned down two peace offerings.

“Sorry Mr Adani. I am not taking your deal to shut up for six months,” she posted on X. In the same post, she went on to say that she was not taking up the ‘second deal’ either, under which she would be free to attack Adani but not the prime minister. She did not provide details of how or who or indeed when the offers were conveyed to her.

She has in fact accused Adani of paying cash to unnamed people for not asking questions. Now Adani has created a fake campaign against "cash for (asking) questions", she sarcastically added.

While the ethics committee of the Lok Sabha is due to hear oral evidence from BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Moitra's former partner Jay Anant Dehadrai on 26 October, no details are available yet about the actual cash transaction that may have taken place between Moitra and Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani. Even the signed statement by Hiranandani does not mention any cash paid to her.

Nishikant Dubey, the BJP MP, however, tweeted on Saturday that investigating agencies (the CBI, apparently) have been informed by the NIC (National Informatics Centre)—which handles all electronic communications of the government and Parliament—that Moitra was in India when her password was used in Dubai to access her page on the Parliament’s portal, ostensibly to post a question targeting the Adani Group and its alleged links with the prime minister.

Moitra responded by requesting the NIC to release login details of all MPs to show they were always physically present at places from where their passwords were used and the portal accessed.

She had also earlier suggested that personal assistants, researchers, staff and interns of the MPs have always had access to the portal. Dubey, however, seemed to be questioning the use of the password from Dubai, where Hiranandani is based, while she herself was in India.

Former Lok Sabha secretary general PDT Achary was quoted by the Wire during the day as saying that while rules did not prevent Moitra from taking anyone’s help in framing questions, sharing passwords may not have been appropriate.

Moitra also defiantly posted, “Also got message (conveyed) to me about an impending CBI raid. I am busy with Durga Puja. I invite the CBI to come home and count my pairs of shoes.”

She went on to add: “But first please file an FIR to inquire into the Rs 13,000 crore coal money that Adani stole from Indians.”

She also continued with her attack on the Adanis by posting:

“Unknown FPIs own Adani shares whose origin SEBI cannot find & Adani gets MHA clearance to buy Mumbai airport.

"This is the real question of national security. Not email ID that every PA & every unchecked intern team of every MP has publicly & accesses at will.”