Mean girl up against meaner boys, Mahua Moitra's hard punch

New Delhi: It is very easy to take sides in the Mahua Moitra saga. A woman, who has made her opinions known vociferously and often rubbed the ruling party leaders the wrong way, has landed in a mess that may cost her dearly in politics and public perception.

Moitra, the firebrand leader from Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal, has been hogging the headlines since the day she stepped into Parliament in 2019. Her fiery speeches, use of choicest words and now the cash-for-Parliament questions row, Moitra’s tenure as MP is simply too rocking to be ignored.

But it is her fighting spirit and aggression that stands out despite getting muddled by her “ex-jilted partner” and a “close friend”. The still-unfolding story can easily be a plot for a blockbuster -- a mean girl up against meaner men.

For some, she symbolises an emancipated woman who can take on the mighty ruling forces with an ease. For others, she is the best example of a ‘greedy’ personality who wants to take short-cuts to name, fame and power. The debate rages on and every day new nuggets are being added to the saga.

Mahua Moitra has the looks and the brains, right amounts of money to flaunt fashion sense, accessories and the confidence to rant inside and outside Parliament without fear. She is highly ambitious, aggressive and too strong and independent, something which today’s women aspire to be, and she is upfront and bold enough to own up all her actions and words, including all the cuss words she uses, close friendships, the pricey bags, accessories and even her latest cash-for-Parliament questions.

She uses words and expressions to create stir and has done so very frequently since she came to the Lok Sabha in 2019 as a Trinamool Congress MP, and the first time she stood up to deliver her maiden speech in the Budget Session. Since then, she has made much noise in and outside Parliament and on topics varied from religion, fashion sense, politics, etc. The noise secured her the space and position in the media at least.

All was going right for her, but suddenly things exploded when her “jilted ex-partner” made some serious allegations. On the basis of these, Moitra has been accused of receiving gifts in cash and kind from real estate developer Darshan Hiranandani for asking questions in Parliament targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and businessman Gautam Adani. And, that she shared her Lok Sabha ID and password with Hiranandani, which is in violation of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

And when Parliament’s Ethics Committee summoned her in November, Moitra stormed out along with Opposition members. Danish Ali, BSP MP described the questions asked to Mahua Moitra as "Draupadi's Cheer haran" -- the proverbial ultimate insult to any woman.

Moitra wrote a letter to Speaker Om Birla, Lok Sabha Ethics committee’s chairperson, wherein she said, "How shameful is it that I, as one of only 78 female members of Lok Sabha, are subjected to Vastraharan in the name of 'Ethics Committee' hearing by the Chairperson of the Committee?"

The Committee chairman, Vinod Sonkar alleged Moitra only created a ruckus to avoid giving answers during the investigation into the cash-for-query case. Aparajita Sarangi, another member of the Parliament Ethics Committee, said Moitra "went beyond all limits of decency".

What happened in the meeting is confidential, but Moitra is clear that she is not to be bogged down in any way. She has accepted that she did share her MP login credentials. She has claimed that it is a routine practice for MPs to share logins for others to type in the questions.

While she has taken the allegations head on, she seems to have meticulously hit the ball hard for a six for the time being after having struck a chord with the “Draupadi” analogy.

But in 2005, accepting cash in exchange for raising questions in Parliament had cost 11 MPs dearly. The Lok Sabha expelled 10 members, and one was removed from the Rajya Sabha. The 11 MPs included six from the BJP, three from BSP, and one each from the RJD and Congress.

So, if the charges against Mahua Moitra are proven, then she is in big trouble.

Moitra has dismissed the allegations of cash-for-query and blamed BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and a "jilted ex", a lawyer named Jai Anant Dehadrai, for spreading lies. She believes it is BJP’s doing to get her out of Parliament.

Whether these are lies or not will be decided ultimately, Mahua Moitra has stirred a debate, given a colour to the whole controversy and divided opinions. She has the right to her personal life but when an ex-partner of an MP becomes a whistleblower, the case can be damning.