Moitra says ready for probe, calls for decency and protection against misogyny

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra who accused the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee of asking humiliating questions during a cashforquery hearing expressed her readiness to cooperate with the probe while stressing the importance of protection from misogyny and maintaining a standard of decencyIn an interview with PTI Moitra dubbed the ethics committee probe as a political witchhunt and said the sole intention is to suspend her from ParliamentMoitra who alleged that she was asked irrelevant questions about her personal life during the committees hearing said I am always ready for the probe and to answer all the questions But there has to be a line of decency which needs to be mentioned I need protection from cheap and derogatory questioning I have written about this to the Lok Sabha Speaker tooThe Krishnanagar MP affirmed her willingness to answer any questions related to the probeShe said I have told the Lok Sabha Speaker that he has to give me protection against the filthy disgusting misogyny Anything related to the inquiry I have already answered I have clarified my position 100 times If I have broken any rule I should be informed about it If they want to ask me any questions its okay but not in this setupMoitra explained that she had already addressed questions regarding her login ID and gifts stating that nothing she had done was illegalShe has been accused of posing questions via her parliamentary account at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani and sharing her login credentials with him with the complaint filed by BJP MP Nishikant DubeyFollowing the ethics panel meeting its chairperson and BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar said the committees task was to conduct a comprehensive probe into the matterInstead of cooperating Moitra and opposition members reportedly became angry and used objectionable words while making unethical claims against himMoitra countered this by saying that five members from the opposition walked out in protest against the chairmans behaviour and unethical questioningFive members of the committee which is around fifty per cent walked out in protest against the chairmans behaviour and unethical questioning The five members from the opposition protested and told the chairperson that he cannot do this But the chairperson continued to humiliate me she saidRegarding allegations of gifts and NIC logins Moitra said that her constituency is remote and an MPs login is accessed by at least ten people during their tenureShe added I come from a remote constituency I have only availed some secretarial help Nothing can be done without the OTP that only comes to my phoneShe also wondered where the regulations governing the sharing of ones login and password of the portal to merely type out questions adding that nothing could be submitted without an OTPWhere are these rules or protocols about MPs sharing his or her ID and login she questionedMoitra also refuted allegations of receiving undue favours from businessman Darshan Hiranandani stating that he had been her friend for a long timeShe questioned Darshan Hiranandani has been a friend for quite a long time even before I became an MP If a friend of mine gifts me a scarf on my birthday is that a crimeThe entire BJP party and its MPs can be funded by a particular business group and an old friend of mine cant give me a birthday present What are we all talking aboutDescribing the Ethics Committee probe against her as political witchhunting Moitra asserted that it is an attempt to silence her because she has raised contentious issuesShe criticised the committee for not summoning Darshan Hiranandani and not allowing her to crossexamine him expressing her belief that he could be summoned before a parliamentary committee as a citizen of the countryWhy is the ethics committee not summoning Darshan Hiranandani and not allowing me to cross examine him He is a citizen of this country he can be summoned before a parliamentary committee she saidWhen asked whether her party TMC is backing her Moitra responded affirmatively stating Why will my party not back me They are backing me to the hilt Just because there was no statement in the beginning doesnt mean they are not supporting me It is not expected that our party supremo Mamata Banerjee will comment on every issueThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever