Maharashtra to Delhi: Top political controversies of 2023

Mahua Moitra Cash for Query Row

Mahua Moitra  a Member of Parliament for Trinamool Congress (TMC) from the east Indian West Bengal state's Krishnanagar constituency was accused by her former personal friend and lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai and Nishikant Dubey — a lawmaker from PM Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party — of accepting money and expensive gifts for asking a certain set of questions in Lok Sabha. Moitra had accepted that she shared her online credentials with a businessman friend to allow submission of her pre-approved questions which she later intended to ask in Lok Sabha.BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had approached Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against Moitra, accusing her of asking questions in Lok Sabha to target the Adani Group at the behest of businessman Darshan Hiranandani, in exchange for gifts. 

Dubey further claimed that lawyer Jai Anant Dehadrai provided him with proof of the alleged bribes.Nishikant Dubey, an elected representative of Jharkhand state's Godda constituency, had demanded that Moitra be suspended, citing a 2005 precedent when 11 Members of Parliament were disqualified over "cash for query" accusations. While Moitra herself admitted that she shared her parliamentary login details, she asserted that most MPs share their login credentials with others. Besides, the businessman in question — Darshan Hiranandani — admitted gifting Moitra "expensive luxury items", as well as payments for the "renovation of her official bungalow".  He also accepted posting "questions directly on her behalf" using the Parliament login and password that Moitra provided him. Hiranandani made these admissions under Apostille method to the consulate general of India in Dubai. Apostille is a method of certifying a document or statement provided or made in a country other than the one where it is to be used.The ethics committee took a grim view of the charges against Moitra and was suspended from the Lok Sabha.

Parliament Security Breach

On December 13, the Lok Sabha, where the Winter Session was going on, witnessed unprecedented scenes when two men -- Sagar Sharma and Manoranjan D -- had jumped into the House chamber from the public gallery during Zero Hour. They released yellow smoke from canisters and shouted slogans before being overpowered by the MPs.Around the same time, two others -- Amol Shinde and Neelam Devi -- released coloured smoke from canisters while shouting 'tanashahi nahi chalegi' (down with dictatorship) outside the Parliament premises.Lalit Jha, the alleged mastermind of the Parliament security breach, allegedly circulated videos of the protest outside the complex on social media. All the accused were sent to police custody.A sixth accused, Mahesh Kumawat, was arrested by the Delhi Police after officials confirmed his involvement in the incident

 Ajit Pawar joins Eknath Shinde- led BJP govt

In a shocking political development, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, along with 9 other party leaders, the Maharashtra government creating a political uproar in Maharashtra politics. The alliance between the NCP and the BJP has caught many by surprise, as the two parties have had contrasting ideologies in the past. Pawar was sworn in as the deputy chief minister of the western state - a position he will share with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis.. Having the support of the majority of the erstwhile NCP's MLAs, he also claimed the position of president of the NCP, as well as the party's name and its electoral symbol. In his faction's first assembly after the split, Ajit criticized his uncle, calling him biased towards the latter's daughter, Supriya Sule. He also said that his uncle had insulted him, accused his uncle of hypocrisy, and urged him to retire from politics.

Disqualification of Rahul Gandhi

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of Indian National Congress, was disqalified as member of the Lower House of the Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) on 24 March 2023. The disqualifiaction followed a conviction by an Indian court, which sentenced Gandhi with two-year imprisonment, on the accusation of defaming prime minister Narendra Modi's surname.The conviction and defamation raised an alarm about the state of democracy in India and were seen as a move to silence dissent and political opposition before the upcoming 2024 general elections. In August 2023, the Supreme Court of India stayed his conviction. This would allow him to contest the next election. On 7 August a notification from Lok Sabha secretariat reinstated Rahul Gandhi to the parliament.The Indian National Congress observed the day of disqualification as a "black day for Indian democracy"which was re-iterated by other opposition parties.The Democrat co-chair of the India Caucus in the US House of Representatives, Ro Khanna, described the removal of Gandhi from parliament as a "deep betrayal" of India’s "deepest values".US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel stated that the United States was closely watching Rahul Gandhi's case and would continue to engage with the Indian government and highlight the importance of democratic principles and human rights, such as freedom of expression