In a letter to BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Tuesday, Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that the issues brought up by the lawmaker in the Lok Sabha about the purported “Cash for query” controversy are quite serious.
“Organisations that utilise NIC services are responsible for matters pertaining to user access, website policy, etc. Regarding the Lok Sabha website, the entity utilising NIC’s services is the Lok Sabha Secretariat, which is overseen by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Without a doubt, the matters you bring up in your letter are really important. The Committee on Ethics (Lok Sabha) is presently looking into the subject matter of your letter,” Vaishnaw’s letter published by Nishikant Dubey on X said.
The Union Minister went on to write that the National Informatics Centre (NIC) will react quickly to any directives in this regard from the Secretariat of the Lok Sabha.
An official statement said, “NIC will also extend full cooperation to the Committee on Ethics in the investigation of this matter.”
In a jab at Mahua Moitra, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey claimed on Tuesday that an MP’s avarice had endangered national security.
The BJP MP shared the Union Minister’s letter on X and stated, “An MP’s greed placed the nation’s security at risk. This is a matter of national security and integrity, which transcends political parties, not party opposition.”
TMC MP Mahua Moitra responded to Union Minister Vaishnaw’s letter to BJP MP on X by asking, “Who is lying? Fake Degree Wala said two days ago that the probe agency had already received details from NIC, including “Dubai” logins. Ashwini Vaishnaw now states that NIC will provide information in the future IF LS or the Ethics Committee requests it. The BJP is free to carry out a hit piece on me, but Adani Godda may not be the best tacticians.”
I find it amusing that Ashwini Vaishnaw wrote to Fake Degree Wala pledging to assist with the “probe” that she was planning against me! In another post on X, she stated, “I’m still waiting on HMO India and the Ministry of Civil Aviation to look into Farji Dubey’s unauthorised entry into the airport ATC room last year with kids.”
Days after he sent a sworn declaration outlining his claims to the ethics committee of Parliament, Darshan Hiranandani, the businessman at the core of the purported “Cash for Query” affair, expressed contrition for his own poor decision to use TMC MP Mahua Moitra’s parliament login credentials.
Hiranandani claimed in a news agency interview that his involvement in the situation was a mistake of judgement.
“I believe that my involvement in this situation is the result of a mistake in judgement. And as I previously stated, I have been extremely precise and transparent about what transpired in my affidavit. In his interview, Hiranandani stated, “You know, as far as that’s concerned, I have nothing more to add.”
Based in Dubai, Hiranandani stated that he was not coerced into signing the document. His affidavit was already called into question by TMC MP Mahua Moitra, who claimed that it was signed on white paper because “a gun was put to his head.”
“I have signed the affidavit voluntarily, free from fear or favour. I had it notarized at the Indian consulate in Dubai, so it serves as testimony to that. I had it notarized at the Indian Consulate in Dubai because I am now there. Then, via email, I forwarded it to the Lok Sabha’s Privilege Committee, copying the CBI and Dr. Nishikant Dubey,” Hiranandani stated in the interview.
When questioned about whether he believed that TMC MP Mahua Moitra intended to attack businessman Gautam Adani and the Prime Minister as a result, Hiranandani restated the contents of his affidavit.”I think, I would prefer to stick to my affidavit in this regard, but I can tell you that she felt that attacking Mr. Adani would target the Prime Minister because there was perceived proximity as both are from the same state” he stated.
The entire affair started when Nishikant Dubey, a BJP MP, wrote to the speaker claiming to have evidence of ‘Cash for Query’ against the TMC MP. He had stated that Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai had produced the aforementioned evidence.
On October 26, the Parliament Ethics Committee has invited Dubey and Advocate Dehadrai to present oral testimony about the allegations made against them.
