Nearly 47 log-in attempts were reportedly made to Mahua Moitra's parliamentary account
A day before Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra appears before the Lok Sabha's Ethics Committee, probing BJP MP Nishikant Dubey's "cash-for-query" allegations against her, sources privy to the matter alleged that nearly 47 log-ins to her parliamentary account were made from Dubai.
He has accused Ms Moitra of asking questions, which were keyed in through her parliamentary account, at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani in return for bribes and favours from the Dubai-based scion of a well-known business family.
Ms Moitra has admitted that she shared her log-in credentials with Mr Hiranandani, whom she has described as a close friend for a long time, but has ruled out any pecuniary motivation and asserted that the questions were always hers.
Nishikant Dubey has accused her of compromising national interest by sharing her parliamentary portal log-in and password with an outsider, and has cited the agreement MPs sign to keep the details secret to demand action against her.
The third-term BJP MP from Godda in Jharkhand today referred to "media reports" that her log-in was opened 47 times from Mr Hiranandani's place in Dubai and as many questions were asked in Parliament.
"If this news is true, then all the MPs of the country should stand against Mahua ji's corruption. Hiranandani asked questions in Lok Sabha for Hiranandani. Are we MPs for promoting selfish interests of capitalists," Mr Dubey said on X.
The committee has taken assistance from the Union ministries of home and information technology to probe the matter and is believed to have received details from them to its queries.
What has added to Mahua Moitra's woes is an affidavit by the businessman in which he admitted to giving bribes to her so that she could ask questions to target the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
She has claimed that Mr Hiranandani was coerced by the government to file the affidavit and has sought to question him during her appearance at the panel, an unlikely eventuality as it is not a standard practice in the working of such parliamentary panels.
The Trinamool MP has claimed that the Adani Group is behind the alleged charges due to her strident criticism of the business conglomerate.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)