No, after her expulsion Indian politician Mahua Moitra wasn't dragged out of the Parliament

By: Umme Kulsum
December 15 2023

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Screenshot of posts claiming Mahua Moitra was dragged out of the Parliament by the police following her expulsion from the Lok Sabha. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

What's the claim?

A video showing police personnel dragging Indian parliamentarian Mahua Moitra is being shared online with a claim that it shows how the Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader was expelled from the Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament) for alleged misconduct. Archived versions of such posts shared on X (formerly Twitter) can be accessed here and here. The video, which shows police personnel forcibly lifting Moitra and dragging her out, has also gained significant traction on Facebook, where it is being shared with a similar narrative (archived here.)

Screenshot of claims made online. (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

Bharatiya Janata Party MP Nishikant Dubey had accused Moitra of accepting bribes, including expensive gifts, from businessman Darshan Hiranandani for asking questions in Parliament. A parliamentary ethics committee had then recommended Mahua's expulsion, following which she was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on December 8 after a motion for her expulsion was passed. 

Posts claiming that Moitra was dragged out of the Parliament by police personnel following her expulsion are baseless. The video shared as proof for such claims predates her expulsion. 

What did we find?

A reverse-image search on the viral clip's keyframe directed us to a YouTube video published by news outlet The Indian Express on October 4. The description of the video report mentioned that Moitra was detained by the police along with other TMC leaders during a sit-in demonstration inside Krishi Bhavan in New Delhi when they were denied a meeting with Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, union minister of state for rural development. TMC leaders had sought a meeting with the minister to discuss the issue of pending dues under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005 (MNREGA) for workers in West Bengal.  

On October 3, Moitra had also shared the video on her official X account. The video post was captioned, "This is the treatment given to elected MPs of the world's largest democracy after being granted an appointment to meet with a Minister of the Government of India, who refused to honor it after making us wait for 3 hours."

Several mainstream media organizations had reported on the incident as well. Hindustan Times published a report on the incident on October 3, carrying screenshots from the viral clip and Mahua's X post. 

What about Mahua Moitra's expulsion?

Following a heated debate in the Parliament over the ethics committee's report, Moitra was disqualified from the House. She later approached the Supreme Court challenging her expulsion and urged the court to hear her matter urgently. On December 13, the Supreme Court rejected the MP's request to urgently hear the plea. 

The verdict

The viral video predates Moitra's disqualification from the Parliament and was taken in October when the police detained her and several other TMC leaders during a sit-in protest in New Delhi. Therefore, we mark this claim false