Explained: Why Trinamool Leadership Revised Stand On Mahua Moitra And Gave Her An Important Organisational Post

After several weeks of maintaining a distance from its Krishnanagar Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra who is embroiled in a cash-for-queries controversy, the Trinamool Congress leadership has come out in her support. 

Moitra was appointed president of the Krishnanagar district unit of the Trinamool Monday (13 November). 

The appointment signified an expression of the Trinamool’s support for the MP. Importantly, Moitra was asked to keep her hands off organisational affairs since she had earlier stoked factionalism in the Krishnanagar district unit of the party. 

While Trinamool chairperson Mamata Banerjee had maintained a studied silence on the cash-for-queries controversy, party spokespersons had said that the allegations levelled against Moitra had nothing to do with the party.  

Trinamool general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said only last week that Moitra was well capable of defending herself. The party’s stance was construed as an attempt to distance itself from the controversial MP (read this).

There was initially little sympathy for Moitra within the party. She has few friends in the party, primarily because of her aggressive nature, her lifestyle and her elitist attitude (read this). She had rubbed many senior leaders of the party the wrong way and found little support within her party when the controversy broke out early last month. 

But over the past few days, the top leadership of the party decided to revise its stand and express support for Moitra. 

The re-think in the party’s top echelons started after Moitra faced the Lok Sabha Ethics Panel, November 2. Moitra stormed out of the meeting alleging that she was asked “filthy questions” by the panel chairman (BJP MP) Vinod Sonkar. 

She alleged that Sonkar posed personal and intimate questions to her that amounted to harassment and invasion of her privacy. Four other Opposition MPs also walked out in solidarity and echoed her. 

Though it is a different matter that Moitra’s version of the proceedings were reportedly far from the truth (read this), the entire Opposition (the constituents of the I.N.D.I Alliance) aligned with her and found a handy issue to target the BJP. 

As the Congress and other parties--even Trinamool’s archrival CPI(M)--started lining up in support behind Moitra, the Trinamool leadership realised it cannot be seen to have abandoned its own MP. 

A few women party leaders led by state industries and commerce minister Shashi Panja criticised the BJP for “subjecting a woman MP to indignities”. Party spokespersons also took a similar stand. 

“When most other Opposition parties are supporting our MP and accusing the BJP of targeting her, there was no way we could stick to our earlier position of maintaining a distance from the controversy. That would have invited criticism and would have been construed as unprincipled. One does not abandon one’s own, especially in politics,” said a very senior Trinamool leader who also holds an important cabinet portfolio and is a close aide of Mamata Banerjee. 

The BJP, unwittingly, made it easier for the Trinamool leadership to come out in Moitra’s support. 

“The undue haste by the ethics panel in concluding its inquiry to recommend Mahua Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha, and reports that the panel’s recommendation (to expel Moitra) will be taken up and accepted in the first day of the Parliament’s winter session December 4, made our MP look like a victim of heavy-handed and vindictive behaviour by the BJP. The BJP’s hasty actions painted her as a victim. That compelled us to come out in her support,” said this senior minister. 

“Reports that the BJP is moving towards expelling Mahua Moitra from the Lok Sabha triggered huge sympathy for her. She is being widely perceived as a victim of BJP’s vendetta. That forced the party to send a strong signal expressing its support for her,” said a Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP who is no friend of Moitra. 

The Rajya Sabha MP explained that “it was only when public perception of Moitra started shifting” that the party leadership had a re-think.

“For the first few weeks, Moitra was perceived as guilty of taking cash and gifts in exchange for posing questions to the government in the Lok Sabha. She herself admitted to the grave misdemeanour of sharing her membership login details and password to allow an industrialist access to the Lok Sabha portal for his own gain. Because of that, our party leadership decided that she would have to defend herself against the allegations,” the MP told Swarajya. 

“But the ham-handed manner in which the BJP has dealt with the issue changed public perception and helped Mahua Moitra craft a different narrative portraying herself as a victim of BJP’s vendetta. And our party leadership also had to change its stand accordingly,” the MP added. 

Mahua Moitra’s expulsion from the Lok Sabha will be another lightning rod for the Opposition and will provide them another stick to beat the BJP with. 

Also read: 

1. Behind-the-scenes: What happened at Lok Sabha panel hearing on charges against TMC MP Mahua Moitra

2. Bribes-for-queries controversy: Why Mahua Moitra’s days in Trinamool Congress may be numbered

3. Unease mounts in Trinamool over Mahua Moitra, party distances itself from her