The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a money laundering case against Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani in connection with an alleged cash-for-queries scam case, official sources said Tuesday.
The 49-year-old Trinamool Congress leader was called for questioning twice earlier by the central agency, but she did not depose citing official work and sought deferment of the notice.
Speaker Om Birla sought to calm down opposition members, noting that a different system was in place to run the Sansad TV after it was created following the merger of the Lok Sabha TV and the Rajya Sabha TV.
The delegations led by Baijayant Panda, Ravi Shankar Prasad (both Bharatiya Janata Party), Sanjay Kumar Jha (Janata Dal-United), Shrikant Shinde (Shiv Sena), Shashi Tharoor (Congress), Kanimozhi (Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) and Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party-Sharad Pawar) will visit a total of 32 countries and the EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
Breaking her silence on the 'cash-for-query' allegation against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, party chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said that plans were in the works to expel her from Parliament but any such action would help the lawmaker from Krishnanagar ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Opposition members of the Lok Sabha ethics committee on Thursday stormed out of a meeting along with Mahua Moitra, accusing the panel's chairperson of asking the Trinamool Congress MP personal and unethical questions.
The parliamentary committee scrutinizing the Waqf (Amendment) Bill has been granted an extension until the last day of the next Budget Session. This decision follows a heated meeting marked by a walkout from opposition members who expressed concerns about the committee's draft report. The committee will visit several states to meet stakeholders and finalize its report.
Acting on the directions of anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal, the CBI on Thursday registered an FIR against former Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra in the cash-for-query case, officials said.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla is expected to name the committee's chairperson soon.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday pleaded innocence to the 'cash-for-query' allegation levelled against her and told a parliamentary committee that the charge is motivated by animus of advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai after she broke off her personal relations with him, sources said.
Trinamool Congress members and some from the Congress trooped in the Well of the House raising slogans demanding a copy of the report.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has alleged that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi has links to an organisation financed by the George Soros Foundation, which has reportedly supported the idea of an independent Kashmir. The party claims this connection demonstrates foreign influence in Indian internal affairs. This comes after BJP's claims of US involvement in destabilizing India, which the US has denied. The BJP also accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of collaborating with the Soros-funded OCCRP to damage India's economy and reputation. The allegations have drawn criticism from the US embassy and the opposition Congress.
Buch, under a cloud over allegations of conflict of interest levelled by United States-based short-seller Hindenburg, was asked to appear before the PAC, which is reviewing the performance of the market regulator.
Some of his directives had the Supreme Court judges disclose their assets whereas the row over the discovery of cash from a sitting judge's official residence paved way for inquiry.
The committee headed by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar is meeting later on Thursday to adopt its draft report in what is likely to be hotly contested by opposition members of the panel.
The Lok Sabha's ethics committee on Saturday turned down Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra's request to call her after November 5 while allowing a two-day extension, as the panel asked her to appear before it for 'oral evidence' on November 2 in relation to the allegations against her.
The last minute decision of the Congress to withdraw Rahul Gandhi's name as the lead speaker on the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha led to heated exchanges between the opposition and treasury benches on Tuesday.
'It is high time that the 'war on terror' is removed from our diplomatic toolbox.' 'Certainly, our parliamentarians have no role in it,' asserts Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Ethics Committee Chairman Vinod Kumar Sonkar tabled the panel's first report when the House re-convened at noon after an adjournment during the Question Hour.
The report was earlier listed in the agenda of the lower house for December 4 but was not tabled.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the Union Budget on Tuesday as the Monsoon Session of Parliament gets underway next week with the united opposition set to corner the National Democratic Alliance government on issues ranging from the NEET paper leak case and railway safety.
The Supreme Court on Friday deferred the hearing on a plea of Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra challenging her expulsion from the Lok Sabha till January 3 next year.
Sources said the committee is also expected to underline its unhappiness at the conduct of some opposition members during its proceedings and make a mention of it in its recommendations to the House.
All opposition members of the parliamentary panel on the Waqf Amendment Bill were suspended for a day on Friday amid continuous protests and accusations against Chairman Jagdambika Pal of steam-rolling through the proceedings.
The DMK protested in the Lok Sabha after Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan criticized the Tamil Nadu government for refusing to implement the National Education Policy (NEP) and accused them of "politics." Pradhan alleged that the state had initially agreed to the PM SHRI scheme but later backed out. The DMK, however, asserted that they have issues with the NEP and the three-language formula, and cannot accept it in full. The protests disrupted House proceedings, leading to an adjournment. The DMK members were angered by Pradhan's accusations, demanding the release of funds allocated for education in the state.
Trinamool Congress leader Abhishek Banerjee voiced support for MP Mahua Moitra on Monday, asserting that the party stands behind her in the face of a recommendation for expulsion from Lok Sabha over a 'cash-for-query' controversy.
The Lokpal directive came while deciding a complaint by BJP Lok Sabha member Nishikant Dubey alleging that Moitra had asked questions in the Lower House of Parliament in exchange for cash and gifts from Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey said on Saturday the Lok Sabha Speaker should also probe the 'unsavoury' conduct and remarks of Danish Ali, who was recently at the receiving end of ruling party member Ramesh Bidhuri's derogatory words in the House.
Ruling NDA and opposition INDIA bloc MPs clashed in Parliament on Thursday over Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on B.R. Ambedkar, leading to jostling and an injury to BJP MP Pratap Sarangi. The opposition demanded Shah's resignation, while the BJP defended him.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) member Mahua Moitra on Tuesday approached the Delhi high court seeking to restrain Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey, an advocate and several social media platforms and media houses from posting, circulating or publishing any alleged fake and defamatory content against her.
The parliamentary committee scrutinising the Waqf bill is set to propose that existing 'Waqf by user' properties will remain so if not in dispute or are government facilities but they must be registered before the new law takes effect, providing little relief to Waqf bodies in their unverified title claims.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey has accused Moitra of asking questions in the Lok Sabha to target the Adani Group at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani. He said it was Hiranandani who used her login to file questions from different places, mostly Dubai.
Opposition parties Nationalist Congress Party and Samajwadi Party on Wednesday demanded reservation for OBCs in the women's reservation bill and questioned the reason for calling a special session when the bill cannot be implemented before census and delimitation.
Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has written to the ethics committee of the Lok Sabha stating that she cannot appear before it on October 31 in connection with the allegations against her due to prior engagements and will be available only after November 5.
Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey on Sunday accused Trinamool Congress's Mahua Moitra of taking 'bribes' from a businessman to ask questions in Parliament and urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to constitute an 'inquiry committee' to look into the charges against her.
More than 750 eminent citizens, including historian Romila Thapar, economist Jean Dreze and actor Naseeruddin Shah, on Wednesday came out in support of a news website which is alleged to have received dubious funds to spread Chinese propaganda.
The government on Friday announced some concessions for mutual fund industry and income tax payers, while comitting to low tax regime to promote industrial activity to generate jobs and create more resources to undertake social welfare activities.
The meeting of the Joint Committee on Waqf (Amendment) Bill took an ugly turn as the Trinamool Congress MP smashed a glass water bottle and threw it towards panel chairman Jagdambika Pal of the Bharatiya Janata Party during a heated exchange of words with BJP's Abhijit Gangopadhyay, a former Calcutta high court judge.
In his speech in the Lok Sabha on February 7, Rahul made several allegations against the government over the Hindenburg-Adani row.
Joshi said, "(BJP leader) Nishikant Dubey issued a notice to Rahul Gandhi for making baseless allegations (against the PM). What they say has to be supported with evidence but they haven't produced any. We all are answerable to the people of this country. This time action will be taken on this notice."
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