On Thursday (19th October), ‘journalist’ Sucheta Dalal denied knowing Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra and helping her in targeting the Adani Group with unverified information.
The development came hours after Darshan Hiranandani, the CEO of Hiranandani Group, turned approver in the ‘cash for query’ scandal (also called ‘MahuaGate’) and accused Dalal of aiding Moitra in defaming the Adani Group.
In a tweet, the ‘journalist claimed, “The very fact that he has named me makes this whole letter and his ‘solemn’ statements a farce — I don’t know
Mahua Moitra and I think she can confirm it. The question of helping her simply does not arise, NOR did she EVER reach out and ask for any help either!”
It must be mentioned that Darshan Hiranandani accused Sucheta Dalal of working in cahoots with Mahua Moitra to tarnish the reputation of Gautam Adani.
In a signed affidavit, he informed, “Ms Moitra, in her endeavour, was getting help from other people like Sucheta Dalal, Shardul Shroff and Pallavi Shroff, who were also in touch with her, and who were feeding her with all kinds of unverified information relating to Sh. Gautam Adani and his companies. Clearly, there were others who were also assisting her in this targeted attack.“
OSINT handle ‘The Hawk Eye’ pointed out that ‘MoneyLife’ portal, a supposed news outlet co-founded by Sucheta Dalal, had published more than 50 articles targeting businessman Gautam Adani and the Indian conglomerate ‘Adani Group.’
The primary accusation against the Indian ‘journalist’ is that she helped Mahua Moitra with unverified information against the Adani Group. Interestingly, her portal ‘Money Life’ has a section dedicated to the Indian conglomerate.
‘The HawkEye’ pointed out a disturbing pattern in the headlines of articles published by the news portal against Gautam Adani. ‘MoneyLife’ frequently relies on unsubstantiated questions raised by the Congress party to target the Adani group.
While Sucheta Dalal did not respond to the allegations about ‘MoneyLife’ targeting the Adani group or propagating the narrative of the Congress party, the ‘journalist’ claimed to have no ties with Mahua Moitra, Pallavi Shroff and Shardul Shroff. All three individuals were named by Hiranandani in his signed affidavit.
“This is completely stupefying — I do not know Mahua Moitra personally at all – I may have retweeted some of her stuff. I don’t know Pallavi Shroff and I used to know Shardul Shroff long ago. I dare anyone to find any links between me and them,” Dalal tweeted.
“Requesting IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar to help me get to the bottom of it. Ashwini Vaishnaw also please help. This is one time the govt ought to help prevent this kind of slander by some crooks!!” she sought government intervention against the likes of OSINT handles such as ‘The Hawk Eye.’
Several netizens pointed out that Sucheta Dalal, who claimed to not know Mahua Moitra personally, had sent information to the Trinamool Congress MP with respect to Essar Group. They shared screenshot of the interaction between the ‘journalist’ and the politician, who is now under fire over ‘cash for query’ scandal.
Sucheta Dalal however claimed that the Twitter interaction was no proof of her personal camaraderie with Mahua Moitra.
“This tweet exchange is being bandied as proof I know Mahua Moitra. Some facts. 1) I did not send any information 2) this is about #Essar among the largest wilful defaulters who had filed a criminal case against me when I wrote for Indian Express,” the ‘journalist’ remarked.
“3) The common factor between #Essar then and #Adani now is Ravi Muthreja who heads communications for both groups! He has been badgering me and holding out veiled threats. The mystery of why my name was dragged in seems solved. Question is- is he still moonlighting?” she alleged
The controversy surrounding TMC MP Mahua Moitra
On 15th October this year, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Lok Sabha (MP) Nishikant Dubey levelled serious allegations against Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, saying she took cash and gifts from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to ask specific questions in the Parliament. MP Dubey has submitted a formal complaint to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla seeking an inquiry against Moitra and urged the Speaker for her immediate suspension.
In his letter, he raised alarming allegations of corruption and misconduct against Moitra. He pointed out alleged bribery between Moitra and businessman Darshan Hiranandani, where cash and gifts were purportedly exchanged for asking questions in Parliament that favoured Hiranandani’s business interests. Dubey raised the allegations based on a letter written to him by advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai.
He added that 50 out of 61 questions raised by Moitra were allegedly aimed to protect and promote Hiranandani’s company that, often focused on rival business conglomerates like the Adani Group. He contended that the alleged conspiracy went unnoticed as Moitra, an opposition leader, openly criticised the government, linking it to business houses while covertly serving her agenda.
He added that the alleged misconduct of Moitra in the Parliament was similar to the infamous “cash for query” episode of December 2005. He further contended the alleged actions of Moitra were to be considered a breach of privilege, contempt of the House and a violation of Section 120-A of the Indian Penal Code.
Dubey stated that Mahua Moitra‘s quid pro quo arrangement with a businessman, which was recently disclosed, revealed her public image of morality to be a deceptive facade. He described it as a “Machiavellian Camouflage” that she used to conceal her criminal activities while projecting the persona of a “firebrand Member of Parliament.”
Retaliating to the allegations, Moitra said she would welcome ED and CBI for enquiry into her alleged money laundering “right after they finish investigating Adani’s offshore money trail, over invoicing, benami accounts”. She urged ED to first file FIR against Adani and raised allegations of coal scam against Adani group.
Darshan Hiranandani is the CEO of real estate giant Hiranandani Group based in Mumbai. The group has diversified into health, education, energy, hospitality, and data centres, and has recently started a technology-led consumer services business under Tez Platforms.
OpIndia accessed a copy of the complaint filed by Adv Dehadrai that contained a list of items that Moitra allegedly got in exchange for asking questions in the Parliament. Click here to know more about the allegations, products, and their costs.