The Parliamentary Ethics Committee looking into the cash-for-query issue has cited concerns about national security while indicting Mahua Moitra for login sharing. The panel formally decided today to recommend her expulsion from parliament.
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Darshan Hiranandani lives abroad, sharing the password can lead to secret information getting into the hands of foreign agencies, the Ethics Committee has pointed out, sources said.
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Sharing of parliamentary login means giving passwords to unauthorized people, sources told NDTV, quoting the Parliamentary Ethics Committee. This could give them access to many sensitive documents that are shared with MPs in advance.
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As an example, the committee cited the Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Bill, 2019, which was circulated in advance. Draft bills that are not available in public domain are also circulated in advance.
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In its report to the committee, the Union home ministry has said that as many as 20 bills, including on banning the practice of triple talaq and insolvency code, have been uploaded in portal in advance. A possible leak of such documents can threaten national security, the committee said.
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Circulation of MPs’ passwords can also help hackers upload documents that can pose a threat to national security, sources said. It can also lead to an attack on parliament, the report has said.
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Sources said according to the report, Mahua Moitra’s account was operated 47 times from United Arab Emirates between July 2019 and April 2023. But between 2019 and September 2023, she had visited UAE only four times. Someone from the same IP address has logged in 47 times, sources said.
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Fifty of the 61 questions asked by Mahua Moitra coincided with businessman Darshan Hiranandani’s interests, the report said. Underscoring that it cannot investigate if Ms Moitra received cash from the businessman, the committee has asked the government to probe the money trail.
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Mahua Moitra has admitted to login sharing and insisted that many MPs share their log-in credentials with others. She also said that she has never asked any question in Lok Sabha at Mr Hiranandani’s behest, as alleged.
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Mahua Moitra had walked out of the Ethics Committee meeting held last week, accusing them of asking intrusive personal questions. Ethics panel chief Vinod Kumar Sonkar accused her of non-cooperation.
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Businessman Darshan Hiranandani, who allegedly paid her to ask questions in parliament on his behalf to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi and business rival Adani Group, has admitted to login sharing too in an affidavit.
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