Mahua Moitra / Story of the first MP to lose membership - Question asked after taking Rs 5,000 in Parliament,

Mahua Moitra: The crisis over the Parliament membership of Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra has deepened. Lok Sabha's Ethics Committee has recommended the expulsion of TMC MP Mahua in the case of asking questions about money. However, this is not the first time that an MP has to lose his Parliament membership. Just four years after independence, a veteran leader like HG Mudgal had to lose his Parliament membership for taking money and gifts from a businessman and asking questions. Like Mudgal, Mahua Moitra is also in the news for asking questions about taking money and gifts from a businessman.

For the first time in the country, HG Mudgal had to lose his membership for taking money and asking questions in Parliament. This is the case of 1951, at that time there was a provisional government in the country. HG Mudgal was counted among the veteran leaders of Congress, but he lost his membership because he took Rs 5000 from a businessman and asked questions in the Parliament. The case of HG Mudgal receiving money and gifts from the Bullion Association of Bombay was found to be true.

A report of 387 pages was prepared

When HG Mudgal was accused of taking money from the Bullion Association and asking questions, a special parliamentary inquiry committee of five members was formed. TT Krishnamachari was made the chairman of the committee formed on June 8, 1951, while Prof. KT Shah, Kashinathrao Vaidya, G Durgabai and Syed Nausherli. The parliamentary committee asked questions to HG Mudgal regarding the allegations against him and prepared a report.

After investigation, the parliamentary committee prepared its 387-page report on HG Mudgal, which was presented in Parliament in August 1951. The committee had mentioned in the report that HG Mudgal had contacts with the Bombay Bullion Association. He took money from the Bullion Association and raised questions in Parliament in their favor. The questions were asked so that the Bullion Association could benefit and the obstacles in their business could be removed. Investigation also found that Mudgal not only benefited financially from this but was also given expensive items.

The report said, 'Mudgal lowered the dignity of a member of Parliament and acted against the morality of the House.' Thus, the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee found him guilty. In such a situation, the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had justified the action against HG Mudgal. In this way, the report presented by the parliamentary committee regarding HG Mudgal was debated in the Parliament, in which he himself also participated. Voting took place on the proposal to remove Mudgal, but before that he resigned.

Admitted to Nehru that he had taken Rs 2,700

HG Mudgal had initially denied that he had received any benefit from the Bombay Bullion Association in exchange for the question. However, he later admitted to Jawaharlal Nehru that it was not the case that he had received Rs 20,000 as was being publicized, rather he had received Rs 2,700. The Bullion Association had admitted that it had given Rs 5,000 to Mudgal so that he could ask questions in their favor and create an atmosphere in the Parliament. In this way HG Mudgal had to resign from the membership of Parliament.

Almost seventy years after the incident, Mahua Moitra is now surrounded by a similar case. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had accused TMC MP Mahua Moitra of taking bribe to ask questions in Parliament on behalf of businessman Darshan Hiranandani to target Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On this, a recommendation has been made to expel TMC MP Mahua Moitra in the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee for asking questions about money. A proposal to this effect has been passed in the Ethics Committee, which will be presented in the winter session. If the voting in the Lok Sabha is in favor of the recommendation, he may have to resign.