New Delhi: Called just a day after the results of the much-awaited state assembly polls are out, the winter session of parliament is set to be one where passions run high. Add to it the fact that opposition parties are determined to oppose the report by the Ethics committee recommending the expulsion of Mahua Moitra for the remainder of her Lok Sabha term. Earlier, the list of business released by the Lok Sabha secretariat stated that either the committee’s chairman Vinod Kumar Sonkar or committee member Aparajita Sarangi would table the report in the lower house on December 4 the first day of the winter session. Recently, the committee recommended expulsion of Moitra from the Lok Sabha, following a contested probe on allegations of “cash for query” against her. Now, even the most-bitter critic of Trinamool Congress Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has said that expulsion of TMC MP Moitra “an extremely serious punishment and has very wide ramifications”. Shooting off a letter to the Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Chowdhury said that the report has recommended expulsion on the basis of inadequate evidence, and without any clear cut definition of “unethical conduct”. “ “As per records, prior to Ms Mohua Moitra’s case, the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha has dealt with a minuscule number of cases which mainly pertained to purported acts of deviation from the general norms of conduct and the punitive action recommended being confined to admonition, reprimand and suspension from the Sittings of the House for a specified period,” the Congress MP said. “If the media reports on the recommendations of the Ethics Committee on choosing to recommend expelling Ms Mohua Moitra from Parliament are right, it would, perhaps be the first such recommendation of the Ethics Committee of Lok Sabha. Expulsion from Parliament, you will agree Sir, is an extremely serious punishment and has very wide ramifications,” Chowdhury said in his letter.Many other MPs have also said that they would oppose any attempt by the government to expel Moitra. However, the rules of Lok Sabha say that if a motion to approve the recommendations of the ethics committee is adopted by the Lok Sabha with a majority, Moitra will stand expelled the very moment. Going by the brute majority the government enjoys in the Lok Sabha, Moitra’s expulsion looks imminent. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey had alleged that Moitra sought favours from businessman Darshan Hiranandani to ask questions against industrialist Gautam Adani. Later, Hiranandani in his letter to the Ethics Committee also backed the claims. However, Moitra denied all allegations and challenged the committee to find concrete evidence against any wrongdoing by her. The probe itself saw opposition members boycotting what they called a leading probe to punish Moitra, but that didn’t stop the committee from recommending her expulsion. Later, the committee sent the report to the Lok Sabha speaker Om Birla, who has now decided that the report will be tabled on the first day of the winter session.Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury, in his letter, has also asked why was Hiranandani, on whose claim that he had access to Moitra’s Lok Sabha log-in credentials the ethics committee recommended Moitra’s expulsion, not called for deposing. He implied that it may be possible that the businessman may be under some pressure, and said that the reasons for Moitra’s businessman friend turning against her is not known yet. “Accepting gifts and giving gifts, which may appear to be expensive depending on the yardstick applied, is a common social practice, and it would be extremely difficult to link or attribute accepting gifts to be a money trail for deriving favours,” Chowdhury said, adding that this case had no similarity with the serious “cash-for-query” scam in 2005 in which 11 MPs were expelled from the House. “All concerned in the 2005 case, including the media personnel, who carried out the Sting operation, and members accused of having indulged in acts of a misdemeanour were examined on oath, their evidence recorded and made part of the report of the Panel. It is not clear whether the well-established procedure was followed and a money trail that is irrefutable has been established in case of the complaint or allegation against Ms Mahua Moitra,” Chowdhury said.The Congress leader also pointed out that while the rules require the ethics committee to conduct a fully confidential probe, “the Chairman of the Ethics Committee as well as the complainant member were openly parading their views and passing judgments”.He said that “advancements in, and adoption of digital technologies has brought about a sea change in the processes followed in conducting Parliaments Business, including the Question Hour, as a result of which Members may become susceptible, and unwittingly find themselves on the “wrong side”.”“I am sure that under your leadership and control, no injustice will be done, and the processes relating to the functioning of Parliament and conduct of the Business of the House is smoothened for the benefit of all Members of the House,” he wrote.TMC MPs planned to have an all-party meeting on the issue, while they also demanded that a discussion should be held in the Parliament with regard to the issue of leaking the Ethics Committee’s report on Moitra to the media.