NEW DELHI, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Indian parliament on Friday expelled an opposition lawmaker Mahua Moitra over cash-for-query allegations against her.
Belonging to the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC), Mahua was a first-time lawmaker from the eastern state of West Bengal. The Ethics Committee of the Indian Parliament had found her guilty of a cash-for-query scam after she was found guilty of sharing her parliament's official login and password with a businessman.
Also, her parliament's account was found to be accessed at several places, including Dubai and many cities in India, on a single day.
The main allegation against her was that she had accepted money from the corporate world for raising questions in the parliament suiting their business interests.
While leaving the parliament in a huff, accompanied by a host of other opposition lawmakers, Mahua slammed the Ethics Committee and the federal government for "silencing" her.
She told reporters that the Ethics Panel's report was an attempt to "bulldoze" the opposition in the country.
During a discussion in the parliament, Mahua's party colleagues urged parliament Speaker Om Birla to allow her to put forth her stand over the issue, but the latter denied the permission.
Mahua's party leader and Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamta Banerjee described the expulsion as "vendetta politics."
Earlier in the day, the Ethics Committee had tabled its report over Mahua's case in the parliament's lower house. Subsequently, a brief discussion took place among the lawmakers, following which the decision of her expulsion was announced by Birla.
"This House accepts the conclusions of the committee that MP Mahua Moitra's conduct was immoral and indecent as an MP. So, it is not appropriate for her to continue as a member of parliament," Birla was quoted as saying. ■
