New Delhi (PTI): The Lok Sabha's Ethics Committee on Wednesday asked BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai to appear before it for "oral evidence" on October 26 in connection with his "cash for query" allegations against TMC MP Mahua Moitra.

"Oral evidence of Dr. Nishikant Dubey, MP, in respect of complaint dated 15 October, 2023 given by him against Smt. Mahua Moitra, MP for alleged direct involvement in cash for query in Parliament," the subject of the Lok Sabha secretariat communication to him read.

The letter sent by a secretariat official said, "I am directed to state that the Committee on Ethics has decided to hear you in the above matter, in person, on Thursday, 26 October, 2023..."


Dubey has accused Moitra of taking "bribes" from a businessman to ask questions in Parliament and urged Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to constitute an "inquiry committee" to look into the charges against her.

Moitra has hit back, saying she "welcomes any move against her after the Lok Sabha Speaker is finished dealing with pending charges against him (Dubey)".

Moitra has also approached the Delhi High Court seeking to restrain Dubey, Dehadrai and several social media platforms and media houses from posting, circulating or publishing any alleged fake and defamatory content against her.

In his complaint against Moitra to Lok Sabha Speaker On Birla, Dubey had cited "irrefutable evidence" he had recieved from advocate Dehadrai to attack her.

In his letter to the speaker, Dubey said 50 of 61 questions she asked in Lok Sabha till recently were focused on the Adani Group, the business conglomerate which the TMC MP has often accused of malpractices.

He had alleged that she has been targeting the Adani Group at the behest of a rival businessman.

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Panaji, Feb 27 (PTI): The sale of idli-sambar in beach shacks is causing a “decline” in international tourist footfall in Goa, claimed BJP MLA Michael Lobo on Thursday.

Addressing a press conference at Calangute in North Goa, Lobo said the government alone cannot be blamed if fewer foreigners visit the coastal state as all stakeholders are equally responsible.

Lobo rued that Goans have rented their beach shacks to businessmen from other places.

“Some people from Bengaluru are serving ‘vada pav’ in the shacks, some are selling idli-sambar. (That's why) International tourism has been declining in the state for the past two years," he said.

The legislator, however, did not elaborate on how the popular South Indian breakfast dish is affecting tourism in his state.

“There is a hue and cry because of the drop in tourist numbers. In the coastal belt, be it North or South, there has been a sharp fall in the arrival of foreign visitors. A lot of factors are responsible for this,” Lobo said.

Everyone, as stakeholders, should bear the responsibility for it, he said.

Lobo said some foreigners visit Goa every year, but younger tourists from abroad are going away from the state.

“The tourism department and other stakeholders should hold a joint meeting and study the reasons why foreign tourists are not ready to come to Goa,” he said.

Lobo said because of the war, Russian and Ukrainian tourists have stopped coming to Goa. “The tourists from former USSR countries have stopped visiting Goa,” he said.

The MLA said the state should sort out the crucial issues concerning tourism, including differences between the cab aggregators and local tourist taxi operators.

“If we don’t put a system in place, we will see dark days in the tourism sector,” he cautioned.