The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has dispatched a third summons to Trinamool Congress luminary Mahua Moitra concerning anomalies in a foreign exchange transgression case, summoning her presence for interrogation on March 28.
Moitra has been enjoined to partake in the inquiry and present herself afore the ED’s headquarters in Delhi. This latest summons ensues previous two, wherein she abstained from the scrutiny, evading the investigators on March 11 and February 19.
Moitra has been directed to engage in the investigation with certain documents pertinent to foreign investments connected to the affair. The bureau seeks to interrogate Moitra under the tenets of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999.
The ED investigators aim to elicit her testimony associated with the issue. The 49-year-old stateswoman is also under scrutiny by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is conducing a preliminary examination into the accusations against her at the behest of the Lokpal.
It has transpired that the ED’s case derives from the CBI’s dossier. Moitra has been embroiled in controversy ever since Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey accused her of positing inquiries in the Lok Sabha to impugn the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, allegedly at the instigation of entrepreneur Darshan Hiranandani in exchange for gratuities.
Dubey further charged Moitra with jeopardizing national security for pecuniary gains. Moitra was ousted as a Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) on December 8 following the Ethics Panel’s adjudication of her culpability in the ‘cash-for-query’ imbroglio. Moitra has vehemently refuted any malfeasance, contending she is being singled out for scrutinizing the Adani Group’s transactions.
“Neither has Lok Pal posted any referral decree on the website pursuant to the Lokpal Act, nor has CBI disseminated any official statement. ‘Sources’ apprising journalists as is customary in the media circus. Trust the Rs 13,000 crore Adani coal scandal warrants CBI Preliminary Enquiry before my persecution,” Moitra articulated on X in November.
Moitra also petitioned the Supreme Court, impugning her expulsion from the lower house of Parliament in connection with the ‘cash-for-query’ accusations.
