Darshan Hiranandani, son of real estate billionaire Niranjan Hiranandani, turned approver in a “cash for query” row involving Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra and claimed that he used the Rajya Sabha MP’s Parliamentary login to ask questions from the central government.
Darshan’s statement comes ahead of the hearing on Friday in the defamation case filed by Moitra against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey who accused her of taking “bribes” from a businessman to ask questions in Parliament.
Moitra, a member of Lok Sabha representing Krishnanagar in West Bengal, sought permanent injunction and damages against Dubey, advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, social media platform X, search engine Google, YouTube and 15 media houses and to restrain them from making, publishing, circulating per se defamatory, ex facie false and malicious statements against her.
What Darshan Hiranandani Said
In an affidavit, businessman Darshan said he met Moitra on several occasions, and they used to communicate frequently, ranging from weekly to daily calls”.
“She shared with me her email ID as a Member of Parliament, so that I could send her information, and she could raise the questions in the Parliament. I went along with her proposal… Certain information was shared with me, based on which I continued to draft and post questions using her Parliamentary login whenever needed,” it said.
Darshan also claimed the TMC leader sought various favours from him. “Many a times I felt that she was taking undue advantage of me and pressurising me to do things I didn’t want to, but I had no choice, because of the aforementioned reasons,” he stated.
‘Centre Put A Gun To Darshan’s Head’
However, Moitra rejected the businessman’s claims, saying that the government put a gun to his head and threatened to shut down his businesses. “He has not been called by CBI or the ethics committee. Why would he write this on his own? Modi has threatened to shut his and his father’s businesses down. They have huge investments in every state. BJP wants to get me at any cost so forced him to do this,” she added.
Allegations Against Mahua Moitra
Nishikant Dubey has submitted to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla a complaint with grave allegations of breach of parliamentary privilege against Moitra, demanding an inquiry committee and seeking Moitra’s immediate suspension from Parliament.
Dubey has accused Moitra of taking “bribes” from a businessman to ask questions in Parliament and requested Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to constitute an “inquiry committee” to look into the charges against her.
In his complaint, Dubey cited a detailed complaint by a Supreme Court advocate, Jai Anant Dehadrai, which he has received.
He also wrote a letter to Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw requesting him to investigate the “IP Address” of Moitra’s “Lok Sabha login credentials”.
(Edited by : Sangam Singh)
First Published: Oct 19, 2023 9:49 PM IST
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