Senior Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Member of Parliament Mahua Moitra on Friday said she won't appear before the Lok Sabha Ethics Committee on October 31 in relation to the cash-for-query allegations levelled against her by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. She will instead appear in person after November 5.

On Thursday, Dubey told the Ethics Committee that it was an "open and shut" case and Moitra should be disqualified.

"Chairman, Ethics Comm announced my 31/10 summons on live TV way before official letter emailed to me at 19:20 hrs. All complaints & suo moto affidavits also released to media. I look forward to deposing immediately after my pre- scheduled constituency programmes end on Nov 4," she posted on X.

Chairman, Ethics Comm announced my 31/10 summons on live TV way before official letter emailed to me at 19:20 hrs. All complaints & suo moto affidavits also released to media. I look forward to deposing immediately after my pre- scheduled constituency programmes end on Nov 4. pic.twitter.com/ARgWeSQiHJ

— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) October 27, 2023

Moitra also posted the letter she had sent to the chairperson of the committee, where she said that she would be busy with post-Vijay Dashami gatherings till November 4 in her constituency in West Bengal's Nadia district and requested to give her a date and time after November 5.

Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai gave "oral evidence" to the panel against the Trinamool Congress MP on Thursday, after which its chairperson Vinod Kumar Sonkar said the committee will also seek assistance from the ministries of home affairs and IT in probing the allegations.

The Ethics Committee of the Lok Sabha has called upon Trinamool Congress member Mahua Moitra to appear before it on October 31 in relation to the cash-for-query allegations lodged against her.

(Edited by : Ayushi Agarwal)