Mahua Moitra, a TMC Lok Sabha member, is the subject of a complaint to the electoral Commission for allegedly submitting fake electoral affidavits and engaging in tax evasion.
In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, the complainant—who describes themselves as a “public-spirited” person—has asked for action to be taken against the Krishnanagar MP.
Additionally, Shravan Kumar Yadav has designated the Central Board of Direct Taxes and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla as recipients of his grievance.
Yadav said he had discovered “certain material irregularities and illegalities committed” by Moitra.
“The election affidavit, particularly Form 26, filed by Moitra reveals that she has mentioned 'nil' against the category 'details of investment in bonds, debentures/shares and units in companies/mutual funds and others and the amount' — she has disclosed in her affidavit that she has not made any investment in shares,” the complaint stated.
He said that Moitra is a stakeholder in a business called “Villerville Financial Advisors Private Limited” and that, as of 2010, she owned 4900 shares, or 49%, of the firm.
“The Company Villerville Financial Advisors Private Limited revealed the aforementioned stake in Ms. Moitra's name in their yearly filings from 2010 to 2022. The letter said that the alleged intentional and purposeful failure to disclose her investments in the election affidavit was a serious violation that required investigation.
The outcome of Moitra's response to the complaint was not immediately known.
In the electoral affidavit submitted in 2019, Yadav also claimed that the social media accounts had not been disclosed.
Ms. Mahua Moitra's 2019 election declaration said that she only had one social media account. She hasn't revealed her Twitter account, however. which she has used continuously since 2011. In addition, he said, she omitted to include her Instagram account in her 2019 election affidavit.
Additionally, he cited “material irregularities” in her 2019 election expenditures.
Additionally, he said, “the addresses of the donors were not provided in the said affidavit in complete contravention of the Election Commission extant instructions in this regard.”
“It is further stated that the Election Commission may issue a notice for default and declare (the person) to be disqualified, and any such person shall be disqualified for a period of three years from the date of the order,” Yadav pointed out.
He said that the TMC MP listed her income as being below Rs 10 lakh in the affidavit submitted for the 2019 general elections, referring to suspected income tax avoidance. “The disclosed income is around Rs 85,000 per month and the same is not commensurate with the expenditures and lifestyle which Ms. Moitra is leading,” he said.
“In addition, Ms. Moitra has stated that she spent a total of Rs. 55,59,371 in Annexure E2 of the spending affidavit, yet she has only given information for Rs. 43,99,825. The lawsuit said that the difference amount was also subject to taxation as her own income since they were unaccounted-for expenditures from her account.
