Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra’s expulsion from Lok Sabha following an Ethics Committee report into the ‘cash for query’ charges against her has given much-needed ammunition to her party to raise the issue in the run-up to the 2024 polls.
On Friday, as Moitra made her way out of Parliament, not just TMC MPs but INDIA leaders — including Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi — were seen with her, protesting against what they called an unfair move.
The fiery leader also received backing from her party chief and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who said the party supported Moitra and would always stand by her.
In a press conference, Banerjee drove home the point that Moitra was treated poorly as she was a woman from the opposition camp.
“I condemn the way democracy has been murdered by not giving her an opportunity. The party stands behind her with full support. We wanted justice but she wasn’t given a chance. This shows BJP’s vendetta politics. I congratulate INDIA for staying united and fighting back. The party supports Mahua’s case, she is a woman and belongs to the young generation," she said.
After the chief minister, several senior Bengal ministers spoke in Moitra’s favour. Speaking to News18, Shashi Panja said, “See, they always behave badly with women. They speak about reservation but actually they are against women. The way Mahua Moitra was not allowed to speak and the way she was asked questions is unacceptable. Look at how Giriraj Singh commented on Didi. We will campaign on these issues in the Lok Sabha elections."
Moitra, meanwhile, refused to cow down and said her expulsion was the “end of the BJP government".
Bengal has a sizeable chunk of women voters and TMC sources said the party will use the Moitra incident and Giriraj Singh’s comment on the chief minister to woo them.
The party launched an online campaign called #StandWithMahua to cash in on the TMC leader’s popularity, hoping that it would yield good results. On Saturday, a protest will be held in Nadia, Moitra’s home town, to show solidarity with her.
Banerjee also openly declared that Moitra will contest the 2024 polls, giving a clear signal that TMC will project her as the symbol of women power.
Experts said the party cashed in on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Didi O Didi’ comment in 2021 to galvanise voters by projecting the chief minister as a “victim of patriarchal sentiment".
Taking a dig at TMC, BJP leader Dilip Ghosh said: “They don’t have any other option but to make Moitra a candidate since half of their people are in jail. Why did they not stand with her from the very start? Congress seems to be more upset than TMC. All this will have no effect on people."
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