Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra (File).
New Delhi:
Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning in a foreign exchange violation case, sources said Wednesday.
The agency wants to question Ms Moitra over transactions linked to a non-resident external, or NRE, account, as well as a few instances of foreign remittances and transfer of funds, sources said.
Ms Moitra has denied any wrongdoing in the matter.
The summons are the Enforcement Directorate’s third to the former Krishnanagar Lok Sabha MP; she skipped the first two citing scheduling conflicts and sought a new date from the agency.
READ | Mahua Moitra Summoned By ED In Foreign Exchange Violation Case
The summons comes after the Central Bureau of Investigation filed a case and raided her Kolkata home in the cash-for-query case that led to Ms Moitra’s expulsion from Parliament in December.
A parliamentary ethics panel had found Ms Moitra’s conduct “immoral (and) indecent”.
She has been accused of taking Rs 2 crore in cash, as well as “luxury gift items”, from a businessman – Darshan Hiranandani – to ask questions critical of the government in Parliament. She was also accused of sharing log-in details to her confidential account on the parliament website.
READ | Mahua Moitra Expelled From Parliament: “Her Conduct Immoral, Indecent”
Mr Hiranandani has also been called for questioning, but in an unrelated case; this case deals with his Mumbai-based real estate group. Earlier his father, Niranjan Hiranandani, was questioned.
Ms Moitra has denied, vehemently, the bribery charges (but said she did share website credentials, arguing it is common practice among MPs). The Supreme Court will hear this case in May.
Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had slammed the expulsion as “vendetta politics” by the Bharatiya Janata Party. “BJP has killed democracy… this is injustice. Mahua will win the battle. The people will give a befitting reply to the BJP. They will be defeated in the next election,” she said.
READ | “Mahua Will Win Battle”: Mamata Condemns Trinamool MP’s Expulsion
The Trinamool has re-nominated Ms Moitra to contest from the Krishnanagar seat she won in the 2019 election; she eased to victory five years ago, picking up nearly 45 per cent of the total votes.
She will contest Amrita Roy, the rajmata of a local royal family, whom the BJP hopes will have enough sway to win a seat that it has won only once since the seat first voted in 1967.
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