'Cash For Query': Nishikant Dubey Demands Probe Against Mahua Moitra

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey on Monday wrote a letter to Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister of State (MoS) IT Rajeev Chandrashekhar making "cash for query" allegations against Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and demanding an inquiry committee against her. "Your good self may be aware of the allegations against Mahua Moitra that were presented by an advocate of the Supreme Court of India to the CBI and with my assistance to the Speaker of Lok Sabha. These allegations include that she committed a criminal breach of trust, violated parliamentary ethics, and acted in a manner that was detrimental to India's national security," Nishikant Dubey said in a letter.

Dubey has claimed that a Supreme Court lawyer had levelled allegations of bribe exchanges between the TMC MP and businessman Darshan Hiranandani. "The allegations that have been brought forward in front of the relevant authorities are serious in nature and echo back to the 'Cash for Query' incident that came forth almost eighteen years ago. The claim that the Member of Parliament representing Krishnanagar gave Darshan Hiranandani and the Hiranandani Conglomerate access to her login credentials for the Lok Sabha website so that they could utilise it for their own personal gain is possibly the most damning and grave of all the charges that are being made against her. If the claims made above are found to be accurate, this constitutes a serious criminal breach of trust as well as a violation of India's national security because it would give unauthorised individuals access to government websites that may contain classified information," he said.

"The alleged sharing of Moitra's Lok Sabha credentials with an external entity poses a direct threat to national security. Access to the Lok Sabha site might provide sensitive, possibly classified, information. Unauthorized access risks exposure of strategic data that could be exploited to undermine India's policy decisions or strategic interests. Moreover, any compromise of the cyber-security protocols, like sharing credentials, weakens the nation's digital infrastructure, making it susceptible to domestic and international cyber threats. This act, if proven, not only threatens data integrity but can set a precedent, endangering the nation's overall security apparatus," he added.

Calling the allegation "possibly the most damning and grave of all the charges" being made against her, Dubey wrote in the letter that if the claims are found to be true, it "constitutes a serious criminal breach of trust as well as a violation of India's national security". He further said that as you may be aware, the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been entrusted with the duty of operating government websites and is charged with storing data, including the IP addresses of individuals who seek to log in to their websites.

"The website for the Lok Sabha does not constitute an exception to this requirement," he wrote. He urged that these your good self to treat these allegations with the utmost seriousness and initiate an investigation to ascertain the IP address of all login credentials of Mahua Moitra's Lok Sabha account and to determine whether there are any instances in which her Lok Sabha account was accessed at a location where she was not present.

"In addition, I request that you determine whether there are any instances in which her Lok Sabha account was accessed at a location in which she was not present. Any attempt by a Member of Parliament to compromise the sanctity of our democratic temple by accepting monetary or other types of remunerative benefits in exchange for asking questions for the benefit of a business house ought to be thwarted as quickly as possible, and an investigation must be carried out and completed as promptly," he added.

He further urged them to look into the current situation and provide some light on the charges that the aforementioned Member of Parliament engaged in behaviour that was immoral, unlawful, and detrimental to the nation's security. This comes a day after Dubey wrote a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker over the same matter, demanding the formation of an enquiry committee against the TMC MP. He has also sought Moitra's suspension from the House. In his letter titled "Re-emergence of nasty 'Cash for Query' in Parliament", Dubey has alleged "'serious Breach of Privilege', 'Contempt of the House' and a 'Criminal Offence' under Section 120A of IPC" by the Trinamool Congress MP.

Reacting to the complaint, about which Dubey also tweeted, Moitra said she will welcome any motion once the pending breach of privileges motions against ruling party members are dealt with."Multiple breach of privileges pending against fake degreewala and other @BJP4India luminaries. Welcome any motions against me right after Speaker finishes dealing with those. Also waiting for @dir_ed & others to file FIR in Adani coal scam before coming to my doorstep," she said in a post on 'X'. With this war of words, an open battle has begun between the BJP MP from Godda, Jharkhand, and the TMC MP from Krishnanagar, West Bengal.