STILL IN THE GAME

In a small but striking move on the chess board, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on November 13 named Mahua Moitra to a formal role. Not a big one as party posts go: district president of West Bengal’s Krishnanagar (Nadia North).

- Kaushik Deka

But as a statement, a clear and defiant one. In giving this charge to the embattled Krishnanagar MP, who faces a possible disqualification from the Lok Sabha, the party has underlined its intent ahead of the big battle of 2024. Conspicuously so. Moitra had lost the same post in 2021 after a public snub by chief minister and TMC boss Mamata Banerjee.

It’s a subtle riposte to the way the controversy is perceived to have been weaponised by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Moitra’s probable expulsion is based on a draft recommendation by the Lok Sabha’s Ethics Committee, which endorsed allegations that she accepted bribes for asking questions in the Lok Sabha against business tycoon Gautam Adani. Earlier, her deposition before the panel saw a dramatic walkout by a fuming Moitra and other Opposition members, who claimed that the line of questioning was insultingly personal and misogynistic. BJP members of the panel, in turn, accuse her of wilful non-cooperation. The committee’s report will now go to Speaker Om Birla and likely be tabled in the upcoming winter session in December for a vote. Given the majority the BJP and its allies enjoy in the lower house, it won’t be surprising if a motion to expel her is seen through. Expect drama, the sort that builds up around exemplary rites of punishment, meant primarily for their deterrent effect. Political observers see it as the Union government drawing a line in the sand when it comes to criticism, particularly of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.