Moitra moves privilege notice over late-night order to vacate WB circuit house

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra moved a privilege notice before Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against three senior officials, alleging a serious breach of protocol and contemptuous conduct after she was asked to vacate a circuit house in West Bengal's Krishnanagar late in the night on August 14.

In her notice sent under Rule 222 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha, dated August 16, Moitra has sought action against Nadia District Magistrate Srikant Palli, Additional District Magistrate Nirpendra Singh, and Nazareth Deputy Collector Anamika Bera.

Moitra, the Krishnanagar MP, alleged that the officials' conduct was part of a "larger effort" to prevent her from carrying out her parliamentary duties and sought the Speaker's protection to discharge her constitutional responsibilities "free of intimidation and harassment."

According to her notice, Moitra informed the Speaker on August 13, before returning to West Bengal after the Monsoon Session, about her visit to the constituency and sought protection from harassment or impediment.

She said she reached the Nadia Circuit House, the official accommodation for MPs visiting the district headquarters, at around 6.15 pm on August 14 and was given her usual room, which had been readied for her.

"Tea was served in my room at 7 pm and dinner was served at 9.20 pm in the room," she said.

At 9.47 pm, she received a call from the Nadia additional district magistrate, asking her to vacate the premises. When she sought the reason, the ADM allegedly told her that the "order had come from the top", referring to the district magistrate, she said.

At 10.52 pm, she received a WhatsApp message from the Nazareth deputy collector along with a copy of an order dated August 12, stating that the circuit house would not be available for service from the evening of August 14 till further orders because of annual maintenance and cleaning.

The order said reservations confirmed before August 13 would be exempted from the general suspension.

Moitra, however, questioned why the administration waited until 10 pm to ask her to leave, if the order had already been issued on August 12.

She also said the staff did not inform her of any suspension when she made the booking or checked in, and provided her with a fully prepared room and served food there.

Moitra claimed that at least four rooms in the circuit house were occupied that night – a room each by the Nazareth deputy collector, Nadia projector director, an IAS probationer, and another government official.

She said the staff told her that no cleaning or maintenance work was taking place except the installation of a water-iron removal plant outside the building, and that the kitchen and staff were fully operational.

She also questioned the manner in which the order was communicated, saying it was not emailed to her beforehand or displayed at the reception, but was sent to her only through WhatsApp at 10.52 pm.

"No alternate arrangement" was offered to her, she said.

Moitra also referred to the crowd outside the circuit house emerging late that night, alleging that she heard shouting around 11 pm.

She pointed out that the circuit house is opposite the official residences of the superintendent of police and the district magistrate and described the area as a high-security zone where, she said, crowds should not have been allowed to gather.

In her notice, Moitra cited the Ministry of Home Affairs' Order of Precedence, saying MPs are placed at number 21 and that an MP visiting her constituency is to be accommodated in the circuit house and cannot be asked to leave unless there is another dignitary present who is higher in the order of precedence.

"A woman MP, staying alone, being asked to vacate her rightful accommodation at 9.47 pm and then again at 10.52 pm not only gravely violates her rights, but brings into question the safety and security accorded to women by the ruling dispensation," she said.

Moitra also said she had moved a privilege notice on July 5 against the Krishnanagar SP and other police officers over an alleged incident of targeted physical violence by BJP members on July 1, but no action was taken.

She urged Birla to take immediate cognisance of the latest notice and forward it to the Privileges Committee for action against the three district officials.

As an interim measure, she sought an advisory to the West Bengal chief secretary directing the Nadia district magistrate to accord her all protocol extended to MPs, including use of the circuit house whenever she visits her constituency.

Two days ago, Moitra wrote to Birla another letter over being asked to vacate the circuit house, alleging that she was asked to leave late at night while a crowd gathered outside and raised slogans.

Moitra, the TMC MP from Krishnanagar, has faced a series of protests and confrontations in Nadia since the party's defeat in the West Bengal Assembly Polls.

On June 13, BJP Mahila Morcha workers gathered outside the Krishnanagar district court with eggs and tomatoes ahead of Moitra's scheduled appearance in a case.

On July 1, she alleged that BJP workers hurled eggs, vegetables and stones at a TMC office in Nadia where she was attending a party meeting.

The BJP denied involvement and attributed the incident to factionalism within the TMC.