Mahua Moitra

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Mahua Moitra
Mahua Moitra.jpg
Moitra in Goa, 2021
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
Assumed office
23 May 2019
Preceded byTapas Paul
ConstituencyKrishnanagar
Majority63,218
Member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly
In office
28 May 2016 – 23 May 2019
Preceded bySamaredranath Ghosh
Succeeded byBimalendu Sinha Roy
ConstituencyKarimpur
Majority15,989
In–charge of the All India Trinamool Congress, Goa
In office
13 November 2021 (2021-11-13) – 4 May 2022 (2022-05-04)
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byKirti Azad
Personal details
Born (1974-10-12) 12 October 1974 (age 49)[1][2]
Cachar, Barak Valley, India
Political partyAll India Trinamool Congress flag (2).svg All India Trinamool Congress (Since 2010)
Other political
affiliations
Alma materMount Holyoke College
Profession

Mahua Moitra (born 12 October 1974) is an Indian politician and a Member of parliament in the 17th Lok Sabha from Krishnanagar, Nadia District, West Bengal.[3] She contested and won the seat in the 2019 Indian general election as an All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) party candidate.[4]

Moitra served as a member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly representing Karimpur from 2016 to 2019,[5] and has served as the general secretary and national spokesperson of the AITC for the past few years. She was an investment banker before entering politics.[6]

Early life[edit]

Moitra was born to Dwipendra Lal Moitra and Manjoo Moitra on 12 October 1974 in Labac in the Cachar district of Barak Valley. She hails from a Bengali Hindu Brahmin family and has a sister.[7][8] [1]

Moitra went to school in Kolkata. She graduated in economics and mathematics in 1998 from Mount Holyoke College South Hadley in Massachusetts, United States.[9]

Moitra worked as an investment banker for JPMorgan Chase in New York City and London.[10]

Political career[edit]

She quit her position as vice-president at JPMorgan Chase in London in 2009 to enter Indian politics.[10] Subsequently, she joined the Indian Youth Congress, the youth wing of the Indian National Congress party where she was one of the trusted hands of Rahul Gandhi in the project "Aam Admi Ka Sipahi".[11] In 2010, she moved to the All India Trinamool Congress party.[10] She was elected from the Karimpur constituency in Nadia district, West Bengal in the Legislative Assembly elections held in 2016.[12][13] She has been elected as a member of parliament to the 17th Lok Sabha from Krishnanagar, West Bengal.[14][15]

On 13 November 2021, she was appointed TMC party's Goa in-charge to prepare the party for contesting the 2022 Goa Legislative Assembly election.[16]

Lawsuits[edit]

On 10 January 2017, Moitra filed a police complaint against Bharatiya Janata Party MP and Union Minister Babul Supriyo for allegedly "insulting her modesty" during a national television debate.[17] The complaint was later dismissed by the Calcutta High Court.[18] A few days later, Babul Supriyo sent legal notices to Moitra and TMC MPs Saugata Roy and Tapas Paul for allegedly defaming him by accusing him of being involved in the Rose Valley ponzi firm scam.[19][20]

In January 2020, Zee media filed a defamatory lawsuit against Moitra for apparently making derogatory statements against the channel while addressing reporters. She was granted bail and put on trial by a Delhi Court.[21] She later won the case and the charges against her were dismissed.[22]

Opinions[edit]

Political Issues[edit]

On 26 June 2019, Moitra pointed out seven early signs of fascism,[23] which she claims are present in India under Narendra Modi's government.[24] She said that constitution on which every MP has sworn to protect is now under threat. In December 2020, she called the press as "2 paisa" after which the local news media criticised her heavily and decided to boycott her.[25] Her party distanced themselves from her comments.[26][27]

Criticising the judiciary and the current government in the parliament on 8 February 2021, Moitra stated "The sacred cow that was the judiciary is no longer sacred, It stopped being sacred the day a sitting chief justice of this country was accused of sexual harassment, presided over his own trial, cleared himself and then proceeded to accept the nomination to the upper house within three months of retirement, replete with Z+ security cover". The speech caused an uproar in the house with member of the ruling party calling it 'objectionable' and violating parliamentary rules because it mentioned a person in "high authority". Opposition members supported the speech as it was based on facts which are matters of public record.[28][29][30]

The remarks were finally expunged from the records. On 11 February 2021, BJP leaders Nishikant Dubey and PP Chowdhary moved a privilege notice against Moitra.[31]

On 7 April 2022, Mahua Moitra argued in the parliament that the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 is even more intrusive than colonial surveillance laws in India.[32]

Social Issues[edit]

She condemned the acquittal and thereafter, garlanding of rapists of Bilkis Bano by local BJP politicians and VHP workers[33] by calling out their Islamophobia and hate for women and said that for every BJP Politician who lauds this as sanskari, there exists a Kali (Hindu Goddess) who will fight back.[34]

'Kaali' controversy[edit]

On 5 July 2022 at the India Today Conclave East, while reacting to a film poster showing goddess Kali smoking a cigarette, Moitra said, “Kaali to me is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess. You have the freedom to imagine your goddess. There are some places where whiskey is offered to gods and in some other places it would be blasphemy.”[35] Distancing itself from the controversy, her party All India Trinamool Congress issued a statement — “Her views expressed on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity and are not endorsed by the party in any manner or form”, condemning Moitra's remarks.[36][37] Subsequently, police complaints were filed against Moitra by the Bengal BJP in Kolkata and five districts of West Bengal, as well as in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.[38][39]

Personal life[edit]

Moitra was married to Danish financier Lars Brorson, with whom she later divorced.[40]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Members : Lok Sabha". loksabhaph.nic.in. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
  2. ↑ De, Shobhaa (29 June 2019). "India is 'drunk' on Mahua: A political star is born". The Asian Age. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  3. ↑ "Who is Mahua Moitra?". The Indian Express. 27 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  4. ↑ "Election Results 2019: Privacy Warrior Mahua Moitra Wins West Bengal's Krishnanagar". HuffPost. 23 May 2019. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
  5. ↑ "West Bengal 2016 Mahua Moitra (Winner) Karimpur". MyNeta. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "Ex-investment banker Mahua Moitra has assets of over Rs 2.5 cr". India Today. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  7. ↑ https://www.india.gov.in/my-government/indian-parliament/mahua-moitra
  8. ↑ Yadav, Puneet Nicholas (28 June 2019). "BJP Succeeded In Creating Impression Of 'Nameless, Faceless Enemy' Coming For Hindus: Mahua Moitra". Outlook. Retrieved 26 September 2020. I am a Hindu and neither I nor anyone from my family, ever felt it necessary to assert or to tattoo the fact on our foreheads that we are Hindus or Brahmins.
  9. ↑ Feuerstein, Christian (9 May 2021). "Mahua Moitra '98 speech decries fascism". Mount Holyoke College. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 Bhattacharya, Ravik (11 May 2010). "Key Youth Cong face in Bengal flirts with Trinamool". Indian Express Archives. Retrieved 19 July 2017.
  11. ↑ De, Shobhaa (29 June 2019). "India is 'drunk' on Mahua: A political star is born". The Asian Age.
  12. ↑ "Winner and Runner up Candidate in Karimpur assembly constituency". Elections.in. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  13. ↑ "Mahua Moitra Karimpur". NDTV. Archived from the original on 11 March 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
  14. ↑ "Krishnanagar Election result 2019: Mahua Moitra of the TMC likely wins by 63,218 votes". Times Now. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "Krishnanagar (West Bengal) Lok Sabha Election Results 2019: Winner, Runner-Up, Live Counting on Election Commission of India ECI at eciresults.nic.in". The Indian Express. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  16. ↑ "TMC appoints Mahua Moitra as party's Goa in-charge ahead of Assembly polls". The Indian Express. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  17. ↑ "TMC MLA Mahua Moitra accuses Babul Supriyo of insulting her modesty, Union Minister laughs it off". DNA India. 10 January 2017.
  18. ↑ "Calcutta HC Dismisses Chargesheet against Babul Supriyo for 'Objectionable' Remarks at Mahua Moitra". News18. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 December 2020.
  19. ↑ "Rose valley chit fund case: Babul Supriyo sends defamation notices to TMC leaders for linking him to scam". Indian Express. 11 January 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  20. ↑ "West Bengal MLA Mahua Moitra returns after assaulting Assam Police constable". The New Indian Express. 3 August 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  21. ↑ "Delhi court puts TMC MP Mahua Moitra on trial in defamation case filed by Zee Media". The Hindu. PTI. 10 January 2020. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 August 2020.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  22. ↑ Zee Media - Mahua Moitra criminal defamation, lawstreet.co. Accessed 8 February 2023.
  23. ↑ Pandey, Geeta (26 June 2019). "Indian MP Mahua Moitra's 'rising fascism' speech wins plaudits". BBC News. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  24. ↑ "TMC's Mahua Moitra points out 7 early signs of fascism seen in India in maiden Lok Sabha speech". India Today. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  25. ↑ "TMC MP Mahua Moitra draws flak, media boycott for '2 paisa'". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  26. ↑ "बुरी फंसीं सांसद महुआ मोइत्रा, मीडिया को 'दो कौड़ी' का बताने पर हो रही चौतरफा आलोचना". Amar Ujala (in हिन्दी). Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  27. ↑ "Trinamool's Mahua Moitra Calls Media "Two Paisa Worth", Slammed". NDTV.com. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  28. ↑ Gunasekar, Arvind; Ghosh, Deepshikha (9 February 2021). "No Action Against Trinamool's Mahua Moitra For Parliament Speech After All". NDTV. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  29. ↑ Ramesh, Mythreyee (10 February 2021). "No Action Against Mahua Moitra For CJI Remark, But What Was Said?". TheQuint. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  30. ↑ "Parliament: Uproar in Lok Sabha after TMC MP Mahua Moitra's remarks on former CJI". Scroll.in. 9 February 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  31. ↑ "One more BJP MP moves privilege motion against Mahua Moitra". The Hindu. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  32. ↑ "New Criminal Identification Bill Is More Intrusive Than Colonial Law: Mahua Moitra". The Wire. 7 April 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
  33. ↑ "Bilkis Bano rape case: VHP greets released convicts with garlands in Gujarat". TimesNow. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  34. ↑ "Mahua Moitra writes: Our Bilkis moment". The Indian Express. 22 August 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  35. ↑ "Trinamool Congress condemns party MP Mahua Moitra's 'Kaali' remarks". India Today. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  36. ↑ Sahai Bhatnagar, Isha (6 July 2022). "TMC MP Mahua Moitra unfollows party on Twitter amid 'Kaali' controversy". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  37. ↑ "'Mistakes can be rectified': Mamata as Mahua Moitra faces FIR over 'Kali' remark". Hindustan Times. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  38. ↑ Singh, Shiv Sahay (6 July 2022). "controversy over Trinamool mp mahua moitras remarks on goddess kaali rages on". The Hindu. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  39. ↑ "FIR against TMC MP Mahua Moitra as row over Kali remark intensifies". Hindustan Times. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  40. ↑ "Interview of Mahua Moitra by Sheela Bhatt, NewsX, 4 July 2019". NewsX. 4 July 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2020 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[edit]

Lok Sabha
Preceded by
Tapas Paul 		Member of Parliament
for Krishnanagar
2019 		Incumbent
State Legislative Assembly
Preceded by
Samaredranath Ghosh 		Member of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly
from Karimpur (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
2016 – 2019 		Succeeded by
Bimalendu Sinha Roy
Party political offices
Preceded by
Office established 		In charge
All India Trinamool Congress, Goa
13 November 2021 – 4 May 2022 		Succeeded by
Kirti Azad
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