Cash-for-query row: Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha calls TMC MP Mahua Moitra on October 31
New Delhi (PTI): The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha has asked Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra to appear before it on October 31 in connection with the cash-for-query allegations against her.
After a meeting of the panel on Thursday, its head and BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar also said they will seek assistance from the Ministries of Home Affairs and IT in probing the allegations against the TMC MP.
Moitra has been asked to appear before the panel on October 31, Sonkar said.
The panel on Thursday recorded statements of lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai and BJP leader Nishikant Dubey in connection with the matter.
In his complaint to Speaker Om Birla, BJP member Dubey has cited documents shared by Dehadrai to back his cash-for-query allegations against Moitra.
Birla had referred the matter to the Ethics Committee.
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Right to vote under threat, must be made fundamental right: Cong's Jairam Ramesh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged on Thursday that the right to vote is under threat and the time has come when it should be made a fundamental right for citizens.
Speaking with reporters, Ramesh lashed out at Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, saying the Election Commission (EC) has never been as compromised as it has been under him.
"The rot started under his predecessor. This man is a player and not a neutral observer," the Congress leader said, slamming Kumar.
Kumar is completely compromised and has become a player in elections, he alleged.
"Home Minister Amit Shah had talked about three Ds -- detect, delete and deport. So we want to know how many non-Indian citizens have been detected, how many have been deleted and how many have been deported," Ramesh said, adding that the right to vote is now under threat.
On opposition parties submitting a fresh notice in the Rajya Sabha, seeking to move a motion for the CEC's removal, the Congress leader said they will continue to make efforts for Kumar's removal as he is "compromised".
Ramesh also batted for the right to vote to be recognised as a fundamental right.
"I believe that the time has come that the right to vote should be made a fundamental right. It is a statutory right, it is not a fundamental right. Fundamental rights are justiciable," he said.
The former Union minister said this was discussed in the Constituent Assembly, but it was eventually decided that it should be made part of the Constitution.
B R Ambedkar and Jagjivan Ram had warned that in the future, governments might try to disenfranchise voters, he added.
"Once and for all, include the right to vote as a fundamental right for Indian citizens," Ramesh asserted.
