Unease Mounts In Trinamool Over Mahua Moitra, Party Distances Itself From Her

The bribes-for-queries allegations levelled against Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha member Mahua Moitra, and the attendant focus on her personal life, has caused a lot of discomfort in the leadership of her party. 

Moitra has been accused by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey of accepting bribes from a prominent businessman, Darshan Hiranandani, for asking questions in Parliament to suit the business interests of the Hiranandani Group. 

Dubey wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Sunday alleging that Moitra accepted bribes from Darshan Hiranandani for posing questions in Parliament “to protect the interests of the business group”. 

Dubey pointed out that of the 61 questions posed by Moitra in Parliament, as many as 50 pertained to the businesses that the Hiranandani Group was involved in. Moitra, alleged Dubey, sought information (from the government) through her queries that would protect and promote the business interests of the Hiranandani Group. 

The BJP MP from Godda in Jharkhand said he received documents from a Supreme Court lawyer, Jai Anant Dehadrai (see his profile and posts on X) that contained “irrefutable evidence” of Moitra accepting bribes from Darshan Hiranandani, the CEO of the Hiranandani Group, for asking questions in Parliament. 

Though Moitra has rejected the allegations and welcomed a probe, the controversy shows no signs of abating. 

Monday saw Union Minister of State for Electronics & IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, lending credence to Dubey’s allegations. Chandrasekhar said that the language used in the questions posed by Moitra in Parliament was “very similar” to that used by “head of the company” (Darshan Hiranandani) who had met him (Chandrasekhar). 

Moitra had reportedly asked the government about its plans for data localisation and had highlighted the need for this (localisation). The Hiranandani Group, a real estate major, also has a presence in the IT sector. The head of the group had met Chandrasekhar to lobby for data localisation that would benefit his company. 

The SC lawyer, Jai Anant Dehadrai, has also filed a complaint with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the form of a sworn affidavit alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by Moitra and Darshan Hiranandani to specifically target business tycoon Gautam Adani and the Adani Group through parliamentary questions. 

The Adani Group, in a statement on Monday, claimed that the charges against Moitra are in consonance with its earlier stand that “some groups and individuals have been working overtime to harm our name, goodwill and market standing”. 

A spokesperson of the Adani Group said: “The development corroborates our statement on 9 October, 2023 that some groups and individuals have been working overtime to harm our name, goodwill and market standing. In this particular case, a lawyer's complaint reveals that this arrangement to besmirch the reputation and interests of the Adani Group and our chairman Gautam Adani has been in place since 2018”. 

Why The Trinamool Congress Leadership Is Distressed

Senior leaders of the Trinamool Congress are unhappy and very uncomfortable over the controversy. 

The primary reason is that Moitra is not popular with most of the top leaders of the party and has often crossed swords with them or their supporters. 

And then there is the Adani factor. The party leadership, including Mamata Banerjee, are keen on more investments from the Adani Group which has already committed itself to Bengal’s only big-ticket project — the Tajpur deep sea port. 

Moitra has been going all out against the Adani Group, especially its head Gautam Adani, both inside and outside Parliament. She has levelled various allegations of malfeasance and corporate fraud against the Adani Group. 

The Trinamool leadership has dissociated itself from Moitra’s attack on the Adani Group and has reportedly conveyed to Gautam Adani that Moitra’s stance against the group does not reflect the party’s position. 

Moitra was reportedly in a relationship with Jai Anant Dehadrai (the SC lawyer) who has made the allegations against her. She has referred to him as ‘jilted ex’ in her posts on X refuting the allegations made against her. 

The affair between Moitra and Dehadrai was known to all. But it was the bitter fallout between them that embarrassed the party. She filed multiple police complaints against him over the last few months alleging criminal trespass, abuse and sending vulgar messages. The two had also fought bitterly over custody of the lawyer’s pet dog. 

Top leaders of the Trinamool Congress told Swarajya that while Moitra’s personal life is her own business, the party was upset over Moitra’s reported conduct. She is reported to have hounded Dehadrai and used her influence as an MP to try to harass him. 

Moitra has few friends, and many enemies, within her party. She has running feuds with party leaders in her own parliamentary constituency (Krishnanagar) and the Nadia district. She is also on adversarial terms with many senior leaders of the party. 

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee is also known to be upset with her. Banerjee had publicly rebuked Moitra on several occasions because of the latter’s frequent conflicts with party leaders and functionaries. 

A video (watch this) of the Trinamool chief admonishing Moitra for encouraging factionalism within the Nadia district unit of the party and working against some party functionaries in the district had gone viral.

There have been several other occasions when Mamata Banerjee has expressed her displeasure with Moitra. 

That is why, say party seniors, Moitra has been left alone to fight her own battle now.

“The Trinamool is a party which fights fiercely for all its members and leaders. The party’s complete silence over the allegations made against its MP is very telling. It is significant that no one in the party has stood up for her. She has been left to fend for herself,” said political analyst Basudeb Haldar. 

A top Trinamool leader told Swarajya in confidence that Mamata Banerjee has never been comfortable with Moitra’s flashy lifestyle and her hyper aggressive behaviour at all times. 

“Our leader (Mamata Banerjee) practises and preaches simplicity and abhors ostentation. She is down to earth. But Mahua Moitra is the opposite of all that and that is why not only our leader, but many in the party, maintain a distance from her and keep her at arm’s length,” said the Trinamool leader who is also a cabinet minister. 

It is learnt that the party leadership has conveyed to Moitra that she will have to fight this battle on her own. Moitra reportedly reached out to Mamata Banerjee through a couple of senior leaders on Sunday (15 October) evening to explain her position and solicit Banerjee’s support. 

But Banerjee made it clear that Moitra acted on her own when she posed the (controversial) questions in Parliament. Since the party had not asked her to pose those questions, the party will now have nothing to do with the controversy that she (Moitra) has landed herself in. 

Moitra has also been cautioned against misusing her position as an MP in her personal feud with Jai Anant Dehadrai. Mamata Banerjee had taken exception to Moitra throwing her weight around to hit back at Dehadrai and had asked party seniors to convey a firm message to her on this issue. 

Moitra, say Trinamool leaders, has only herself to blame for the predicament she finds herself in.

“A party which protests vociferously even when a junior functionary is summoned by the CBI or ED for questioning is completely silent today on serious allegations levelled against a high-profile party MP,” said Haldar. 

Trinamool leaders feel that despite Moitra rubbishing the allegations and putting up a brave front, the controversy will gain momentum. And the party does not need to get involved and get distracted by the controversy and Moitra’s plight.