A fight that erupted over the custody of Henry, a Rottweiler, snowballed into a full-fledged political battle that cost Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra (49) her Parliamentary seat.
On Friday, the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expelled Moitra from the parliament on the basis of the report of the Ethics Committee. While the political fate of Moitra has been sealed, at least till the next Lok Sabha polls, Henry has found himself as the centre of attraction.
The Committee headed by BJP MP Vinod Kumar Sonkar submitted its report before the House during the winter session. It recommended the disqualification of Moitra in the ‘cash-for-query’ case. The report was acted upon today stripping Moitra of her Lok Sabha membership. Moitra was elected as MP from Krishnanagar seat in West Bengal.
It is alleged that Moitra received bribes in cash and gifts from the businessman Darshan Hiranandani for asking questions in Parliament. Besides she also shared her parliament login credentials with Hiranandani. It is alleged that her account was accessed 47 times from Dubai and 50 out of 61 questions asked by Moitra directly pertained to Hiranandani's business interests.
However, there are instances in the past where some of the MPs were disqualified from the House on similar grounds. Still, the origin of the charges against her and their culmination are perhaps the most amusing and unheard episodes in the Indian Parliament.
On December 12, 2005, during the tenure of the 14th Lok Sabha, the then Speaker constituted an Inquiry Committee, and within 23 days, he terminated the membership of 10 MPs.
A cocktail of entangled personal relationships fomented in a political battle. This is a cocktail of many intriguing incidents between this high-profile MP and her Ex-partner, Jai Anant Dehadarai and their worsening relationship. After the two fell apart, there were differences over the custody of their three-year-old Henry, a black Rottweiler. The matters got beyond the bedroom debate, and a police complaint was lodged against each other.
While the power portal and media circle of New Delhi remained flooded with many juicy stories about the canine custody battle, they dragged their fight to the Delhi High Court.
Dehadarai alleged Moitra of stealing Henry since he lodged a complaint against her before the CBI. Dehadrai claimed that he bought Henry in January 2021 and has been raising him since the dog was 40 days old, like his child.
The country’s premier investigative agency, CBI, was also dragged into the controversy by this time. Dehadarai claimed he lodged a complaint against Moitra before the CBI on October 14 this year. He also wrote to the commissioner of Delhi Police alleging that Moitra had purposefully kidnapped and hidden Henry away from him since October 10 with the intent to harass and blackmail him.
Dehadarai, an advocate, further stated that he was approached by Moitra's attorney \"to coerce him into withdrawing CBI complaint in exchange for Henry\"; but he refused.
BJP’s Nishikant Dubey makes entry in dog fight
On the day Dehadarai shot a complaint to the CBI, he, through a letter, intimated BJP’s Godda MP Nishikant Dubey about serious allegations against Moitra. Dubey and Moitra are bête noirs inside and outside the House, and Moitra even blocked Dubey on Twitter. Dehadarai knew Dubey would be the best man to settle scores with Moitra.
On October 15, Dubey lodged a complaint before the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and his Minister of state (MoS) Rajeev Chandrashekhar and sought an investigation. The matter was referred to the Ethics Committee of the Parliament. Darshan Hiranandani admitted that Moitra gave him her password and login for Parliament so he could post the questions directly on her behalf when required.
The rest is now history. But it is undoubtedly a case where a dog turns out to be “Man’s best friend” and a Woman's worst enemy.
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