Darshan Hiranandani Affidavit: TMC MP Mahua Moitra Accused of Taking Bribes to Target Adani Group

In a shocking revelation, Darshan Hiranandani, the CEO of real estate-to-energy group Hiranandani, has alleged that TMC MP Mahua Moitra was paid to raise questions in Parliament about the Adani Group. In a signed affidavit, Hiranandani admitted to using Moitra's Parliamentary login to ask questions targeting Adani after state-owned behemoth Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) booked capacity at the Gujarat-based conglomerate's Dhamra LNG import facility in Odisha and not at his firm's planned facility.

Moitra's Demands

Hiranandani claimed that Moitra made frequent demands, including expensive luxury items, providing support on the renovation of her officially allotted bungalow in Delhi, travel expenses, holidays, etc., apart from providing secretarial and logistical help for her travels within India and to different parts of the world. These startling revelations have added a new dimension to the ongoing political slugfest between the BJP and the TMC.

Moitra's Response

Earlier this week, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Moitra's estranged partner and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai alleged that Moitra took favors from Hiranandani to raise questions in Parliament. She responded by filing a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court against them. Meanwhile, Dubey's complaint has been referred by the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla to Parliament's Ethics Committee.

Hiranandani's Friendship with Moitra

Hiranandani, who had this week reposted news about the Adani group starting port operations in Kerala on Twitter, could not be reached for comments. Once the affidavit became public, he deleted his account on Twitter. Moitra could not be immediately reached for comments. Having met Moitra at the Bengal Global Business Summit in 2017 when she was an MLA, Hiranandani said she became a close personal friend over the years whom he had expected to use for getting business in states ruled by opposition parties.

Moitra's Ambition and Attacks on Adani

Hiranandani said that Moitra was very ambitious and wanted to make a name for herself at the national level. She was advised by her friends and advisors that the shortest possible route to fame is by personally attacking Modi. However, the Prime Minister enjoyed an impeccable reputation and was not giving any opportunity to anyone to attack him in policy, governance, or personal conduct. As was her wont, she thought that the only way to attack Modi is by attacking Gautam Adani and his group as both were contemporaries and they belong to the same state of Gujarat.

Targeting Adani to Malign PM Modi

She was helped by the fact that Adani had caused jealousy and had detractors among some sections of business, politics, and media. So, she expected support from these sections in her endeavor to malign and embarrass the Prime Minister by targeting Adani. Hiranandani said she knew about IOC choosing Dhamra over his company's LNG terminal. Based on this information, Moitra drafted a few questions that would have elements to embarrass the government by targeting the Adani group; questions that she could raise in Parliament.

Moitra's Questions and Support

She shared with me her email ID as a Member of Parliament, so that I could send her information, and she could raise the questions in the Parliament. I went along with her proposal, he claimed. Delighted at the response she received for the first set of questions he had sent to her relating to the Adani group, he said Moitra requested him to keep supporting her in her attacks on the Adani group. She provided me with her Parliament login and password so that I could post the questions directly on her behalf when required.

The allegations made by Hiranandani have sent shockwaves through the political circles and have raised serious questions about the integrity of Moitra and the TMC. The veracity of these claims will now be tested in the court of law and by the Parliament's Ethics Committee. The outcome of these investigations will have far-reaching implications for the political careers of those involved and may even impact the larger narrative of the upcoming 2024 general elections.