Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra was removed from Lok Sabha on Friday due to a cash-for-query case. The decision was made after the majority of the lower house voted in favor of her expulsion. Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla led the voting following discussions on the report from the parliamentary ethics committee, which recommended Moitra’s removal. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Prahlad Joshi proposed accepting the committee’s report, which found Mahua Moitra guilty in the case. Moitra, who won the 2019 election representing the Krishnanagar parliamentary constituency in West Bengal, is not the first MP to be expelled from either house. Here’s a list of MPs who faced expulsion in the past:
1. HG Mudgal
The first Indian MP to be expelled from parliament, HG Mudgal, faced compelled resignation from the Provisional Parliament on September 24, 1951. His expulsion came after allegations of accepting compensation from a business association in exchange for submitting questions. A Parliament Committee, led by T.T. Krishnamachari and including members Professor K.T. Shah, Syed Nausherali, G. Durgabai, and Kashinathrao Vaidya, found him guilty, nearly resulting in his expulsion. The committee was formed on June 8, 1951, following a parliamentary motion initiated after a debate in which Mudgal participated. Despite resigning before the voting on the expulsion motion, the House insisted that his actions deserved expulsion. The House considered his resignation terms as contempt, worsening the offense. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru defended the decision, stressing the importance of a clear and forceful expression of the House’s will in such matters to dispel doubts in the public mind.
2. Indira Gandhi
Indira Gandhi faced expulsion through a resolution presented by then Prime Minister Morarji Desai on December 14, 1978. The resolution was subsequently endorsed by a parliamentary vote. During the discussions, she expressed her willingness to go to jail. When the resolution went to a vote, 279 Members of Parliament supported it, while 138 opposed. Consequently, Lok Sabha achieved the historic distinction of being the first legislative body to incarcerate a former Prime Minister. Indira Gandhi became the inaugural ex-Prime Minister to be charged for a breach of privilege and contempt of the lower house in a democratic setup during the emergency she imposed. Accompanying her, her associate R.K. Dhawan and former CBI director D. Sen were also confined to prison. However, Lok Sabha later rescinded her expulsion.
3. Subramanian Swamy
Subramanian Swamy, a Jan Sangh leader at the time, experienced expulsion from the Rajya Sabha during the Emergency in 1976. The parliamentary panel found that Swamy’s behavior was harmful to the dignity of the House, resulting in his removal from the Upper House in 1976.
4. Cash for Query 2005: Expulsion of 10 Lok Sabha MPs
In 2005, ten Lok Sabha members—Annasahed M K Patil, Y G Mahajan, Suresh Chandel, Pradeep Gandhi, and Chandra Pratap Singh (all from the BJP), Narendra Kumar Kushwaha, Lal Chandra Kol, and Rajaram Pal (all representing the BSP), along with Manoj Kumar (RJD) and Ramsevak Singh (Congress)—faced expulsion. This decision was made after they were caught on camera accepting money in exchange for raising questions in the House.
5. Chhatrapal Singh Lodha
Chhatrapal Singh Lodha got involved in the 2005 cash-for-question scandal, known as Operation Duryodhana, where a sting operation by media firm Cobrapost captured him accepting a bribe of 15,000 rupees (approximately US$350) on camera. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha, promptly instructed the Ethics Committee to investigate the allegations against Chhatrapal following these revelations. Within 48 hours, the committee found grounds for his suspension, resulting in his expulsion from the Rajya Sabha.
6. Vijay Mallya
Vijay Mallya, an Independent Member of Parliament and liquor magnate facing a Rs. 9,400 crore loan default case, resigned from the Rajya Sabha in 2016. He submitted his resignation a day before the Ethics Committee of the Upper House was set to suggest his expulsion.
7. Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi, the former president of the Congress party and a legislator for 19 years, was on the verge of expulsion from Lok Sabha. This came a day after a trial court in Surat found him guilty of criminal defamation, sentencing him to a two-year jail term for a statement he made before the 2019 national elections regarding the Modi surname. However, the Supreme Court later stayed Gandhi’s expulsion.
8. Mahua Moitra
Mahua Moitra, a Trinamool Congress MP representing the Krishnanagar parliamentary constituency in West Bengal, faced expulsion from Lok Sabha in a cash-for-query case. The Ethics Committee recommended her expulsion, citing her alleged acceptance of bribes for posing questions in Parliament. The motion for her expulsion was put to vote in the Lok Sabha, where a majority voted in favor of removing her. Mahua Moitra contested the decision, stating that the Ethics Committee acted without sufficient proof, and she was a victim of circumstances.
Summary
Several notable individuals, including H.G. Mudgal, Indira Gandhi, Subramanian Swamy, and Chhatrapal Singh Lodha, have faced expulsion from Indian Parliament for various reasons. Instances range from financial improprieties to breaches of privilege. Vijay Mallya, embroiled in a loan default case, submitted his resignation from the Rajya Sabha to avoid potential expulsion. Rahul Gandhi faced expulsion from Lok Sabha after a criminal defamation conviction, which was later stayed by the Supreme Court. These cases highlight the diverse circumstances leading to the expulsion of members from the Indian Parliament.