Mahua or Modani? The Significance of the Electoral Battle in Krishna Nagar
In pure statistical terms, Krishnanagar in West Bengal is just another parliamentary constituency among the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha. But in the 2024 elections, Krishnanagar has a special significance. The Trinamool Congress, the ruling party in West Bengal, has already announced that it is Mahua Moitra, who would be fielded once again from this constituency. Moitra, who was the sitting MP from Krishna Nagar, had won the seat in 2019 with a majority of more than 63,000 votes and the nearest defeated candidate was from the BJP. As a parliamentarian she was known for her sharp oratory and powerful articulation and this had made her the centre of attention in Indian politics for a short period of time. Indeed, it was these very superior skills as a parliamentarian that made her a target of the Narendra Modi regime, ultimately leading to her expulsion from the Lok Sabha on evidently cooked up charges that converted the lower house of Indian Parliament into a “ Kangaroo Court. “
The forthcoming electoral battle in Krishna Nagar needs to be seen from this background. While doing this, it is clear that whoever is the candidate that the BJP fields to oppose Moitra he or she would ultimately represent Gautam Adani, one of the richest people in the world. Mahua Moitra was able to draw the attention of the members of Parliament as well as the nation to a number of issues of national importance, which included the blatant violations of law, the suppression of ordinary people and the corruption spraying machinations advanced by the Adani group in pursuing their business interests. She focused more on these issues rather than on local development issues of a parliamentary constituency. We have also seen the international media listening to Mahua’s words with interest.
Clearly, this Trinamool Congress leader has the credentials to be re-elected just for the reason that she raised concerns about the common future of a nation in a democratic manner and raised them with utmost seriousness inside and outside Parliament. It can be stated without hesitation that there is no other parliamentarian who has studied the Modi-Adani relationship so meticulously and conveyed it to the people consistently and cogently. The price she had to pay for this was her parliamentary membership.
There can be little doubt that Gautam Adani, one of the richest people in the world, had set out to trap Mahua Moitra through false cases and manoeuvres to cause harm to her personal dignity. There is also little doubt that Team Adani would pull out all stops to prevent Moitra from being re-elected. A brief look at her track record would exemplify why Team Adani would go all out to defeat Moitra.
Consider this. Mahua Moitra has raised several questions in parliament and outside about the illegal freebies accrued by Adani using the Modi regime in sectors as varied as ports, coal mines, power supply contracts to name a few. Most importantly every one of these exposes contained stark evidence that could not be refuted. Mahua also raised sharp questions about other activities of the Adani group, including its foreign portfolio investment partners, especially the dealings with a Chinese national who made a mysterious investment of Rs 20,000 crore in the Adani group of companies. Moitra also highlighted in parliament how Adani got a Rs 46,000-crore contract, without any tender process, to use the Dhamra port terminal in Odisha till the year 2042. This despite the fact that the port has only a limited storage capacity.
Unable to answer the questions raised by Mahua Moitra, the BJP sought to mock and attack her personally. It started by raising allegations that Mahua was receiving money from a business group in the country for questions raised in the Lok Sabha. But no evidence has been brought out till date to validate the allegation of ‘cash for query’ raised by the BJP. In an interview to a national media outlet, Mahua alleged that when these machinations failed, some BJP MPs visited her in person and told her that they were ready to do whatever it took to make her silent till the general elections of 2024 were over.
It was a matter of concern for the BJP that Mahua was constantly raising questions against Modi and Adani in a sharp language. The saffron party was also concerned that threats and incitements did not deter her from carrying on with her mission. It was in this context that the BJP decided to bring up a number of technical issues against Mahua and also raise the allegation that her questions in the Lok Sabha were paid for by vested interests. The Ethics Committee of the Parliament, which had refrained from giving even the minimum punishment to BJP MP Ramesh Bidhauri for addressing a Muslim member in Parliament in the most vile and obscene language, went out of the way and acted with undue haste in Mahua’s case and even asked her personally insulting questions.
The person who filed the complaint before the parliamentary Ethics Committee was Mahua’s ex-partner and lawyer Anant Dehadrai. The complaint of Dehadrai, who already had a troubled relationship with Mahua Moitra, had no legs to stand on, especially in the context of the evident and inherent ‘conflict of interest’. The person or member making a complaint has to provide evidence to support the allegations, according to the handbook published by the Ethics Committee. However, the Ethics Committee created a record in terms of subordination to the powers that be by taking up the case when no evidence was provided by the complainant. The allegations that Mahua received money from Indian businessman Darshan Hiranandani to raise questions related to Adani in the Lok Sabha were also not substantiated with evidence.
The Ethics Committee, chaired by BJP member Vinod Kumar Sonkar made use of failed family connections, false complaints, and even pressured friends to defame one of the most active women MPs in the country and take away her Lok Sabha membership. As a Lok Sabha member Mahua had 69 questions This is not a record-breaking number. There are other members in the same House who have raised around 130 questions. But the important point here is that out of the 69 questions 9 are related to Adani.
It is important to note that all these questions had been raised in the international media and are related to national interests. As a former banker, Mahua Moitra understood the intricacies of investment related matters, including foreign portfolio investments. So, the questions she raised included ones that asked who owns the illiquid stock of the companies owned by Adani? How is the Adani Group procuring ports and airports without proper tenders and contract processes? Who owns shares in Adani companies that do not have free floats? Who are the company’s hidden investors? It is a fact that the administration feared her carefully prepared questions and the manner in which she presented in the interviews she gave to the media. The sum total of these fears is what reflected in the move to oust her from parliament. The fact that Gautam Adani’s market capitalization shot up from US$ 7.8 billion in 2014 and to US$ 43 billion by 2023 in the most unnatural manner was also a background factor stirring these fears.
In the process, the BJP had a running a campaign against Mahua citing serious wrongdoing on an allegation about handing over her Parliament login ID to an outsider. The charge was indeed laughable as it is common practice among parliament members to take the assistance of designated individuals who are even trained under the Legislative Assistance to Member of Parliament (LAMP) scheme. The LAMP assistants help MPs to prepare questions, enhance legislative research and data analysis, supplement background research of parliamentary debates, and standing committee meetings, work on private bill preparation for members and assist in making press releases and organising interviews with the media.
Mahua has given a very clear explanation about the Parliament Login ID being given to someone else. A password to upload questions and answers cannot be used to access budget documents or other confidential documents in Parliament. No special rules have been formulated for the members of Parliament in this regard. But it is clear that such reasoning and questions of ethics have no relevance under the current regime.
The regime has developed special skills to hunt down those who raise questions and all agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate are used for that purpose. The Godi media, predominantly owned by Adani and Ambani are also used to do propaganda for the Modi regime. All this certainly adds to the relevance of Mahua Moitra as she represents the courage to constantly shout out to the world about the Modi-Adani nexus is and its unprecedented clout over the Indian business systems and political structure.
