Trinamool Congress (TMC) spokesperson and West Bengal minister Shashi Panja on Thursday slammed the Lok Sabha ethics panel's 500-page report on TMC MP Mahua Moitra recommending her expulsion from the lower house of the Parliament, calling it “unfair” and “unethical”.

“Today the Ethics Committee meeting was convened…It is unfair that the report was to be tabled in the meeting and then was supposed to be debated and there was going to be voting on it, but the report was out in the public domain even before it was tabled... If there is going to be an investigation then how a committee is going ahead with a recommendation? This not in tune at all,” the TMC spokesperson told news agency ANI.

According to the ethics committee's chairman Vinod Kumar Sonkar, six members of the panel support the report, while four members opposed it. Reportedly, Congress MP Preneet Kaur is one of those MPs who supported the draft. Questioned if there was a vote within the panel, Sonkar said, “Today's meeting had a single agenda - to adopt the meeting. The report has been adopted... four people have submitted their dissent note.” He added that the panel will be sending a comprehensive report to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and Supreme Court lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai have accused Moitra of accepting bribes from businessman Darshan Hiranandani, in return for her asking questions against the Adani Group and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In view of these allegations, Moitra was questioned on November 2 where she claimed she faced harassment as she was asked indecent and personal questions.

According to the panel, the allegations against the TMC MP are “very serious”, and hence, demanded her expulsion from the Lok Sabha.

In a first reaction to the panel's recommendation, Moitra said that it was a “pre-fixed match by a kangaroo court”. “Even if they expel me, I will be back in the next Lok Sabha with a bigger mandate,” she told PTI.

(With inputs from agencies)