Why Parliament questions? RTI, PIL easier: Priyanka Chaturvedi amid Mahua Moitra row

Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi asked why one would go through the route of Parliament questions to get information about something when it is easier to source the same through an RTI filing or a PIL.

The statement comes as Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra is embroiled in a controversy with industrialist Darshan Hiranandani admitting that he used Mahua Moitra’s Parliament login to ask questions targeting Adani after Indian Oil Corporation entered an agreement with Dhamra LNG, a joint venture company of the Adani Group, and not with Hiranandani companies.

As the allegation has now turned into a major political controversy with Mahua Moitra approaching the Delhi high court and a Lok Sabha Ethics Committee probing the matter, Priyanka Chaturvedi said there are many ifs and buts in questions raised in Parliament and asked why someone would opt for that. Each MP can file a maximum of five questions per day and those have to be filed 15 days prior to the beginning of the session.

If the questions come in ballot for the starred questions, then only they will be answered by the minister concerned on the floor of the house allowing room for a follow-up question. Unstarred questions are answered in writing without a chance of a follow-up question. And only a few of the questions listed get answered in a day, Chaturvedi explained. “Out of 20 questions listed for the day in the Question Hour barely 7-8 are answered.” the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP said.

‘I felt I would get support in opposition-ruled states’: Darshan Hiranandani

In his affidavit, Dubai-based Darshan Hiranandani recounted how he met Mahua Moitra and how their association grew over the period. After Mahua Moitra became an MP, she quickly “wanted to make a name for herself at the national level”, Hiranandani said.

“I felt, through her, I would get support in other States ruled by the Opposition, because she bonded extremely well with other leaders of the Opposition like Sh Gandhi, Sh Shashi Tharoor and Sh Pinaki Mishra…” Darshan Hiranandani said.