Mahua Moitra (born 12 October 1974) is an Indian politician and a

Member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in the

17th Lok Sabha The 17th Lok Sabha was formed by the members elected in the 2019 Indian general election. Elections, all across India, were conducted in seven phases from 11 April 2019 to 19 May 2019 by the Election Commission of India. Counting started offi ...

from Krishnanagar, West Bengal. She contested and won the seat in the

2019 Indian general election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and voter ...

as an

All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...

(AITC) party candidate. Moitra served as a member of the

West Bengal Legislative Assembly The West Bengal Legislative Assembly is the unicameral legislature of the Indian states and territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is located in the B. B. D. Bagh area of Kolkata, the capital of the state. Members of the Legislative as ...

representing

Karimpur Karimpur is a census town, near the bank of river Jalangi, in Karimpur I CD block in the Tehatta subdivision of the Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. Geography Location Karimpur is located at . It has an average elevati ...

from 2016 to 2019, and has served as the general secretary and national spokesperson of the AITC for the past few years. She was an investment banker before entering politics.

Early life

Moitra was born to Dwipendra Lal Moitra and Manjoo Moitra on 12 October 1974 in Labac in the

Cachar district Cachar district is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. After independence the undivided Cachar district was split into four districts in Assam: Dima Hasao district (formerly North Cachar Hills), Cachar district alongside ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. Moitra went to school in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. She graduated in economics and mathematics in 1998 from

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

South Hadley South Hadley (, ) is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. South Hadley is home to Mount Holyoke Colleg ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

, United States. Moitra worked as an investment banker for

JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase & Co. is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered in New York City and incorporated in Delaware. As of 2022, JPMorgan Chase is the largest bank in the United States, the ...

in New York City and London.

Political career

She quit her position as vice-president at

in London in 2009 to enter Indian politics. Subsequently, she joined the

Indian Youth Congress The Indian Youth Congress is the youth wing of the Indian National Congress party. The Indian Youth Congress was a department of the Indian National Congress from the period just after the Partition of India in 1947 until the late 1960s. While p ...

, the youth wing of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

party where she was one of the trusted hands of

Rahul Gandhi Rahul Gandhi ( ; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician and a member of the Indian Parliament, representing the constituency of Wayanad, Kerala in the 17th Lok Sabha. A member of the Indian National Congress, he served as the president of ...

in the project "Aam Admi Ka Sipahi". In 2010, she moved to the

party. She was elected from the

constituency in

Nadia district Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influentia ...

, West Bengal in the Legislative Assembly elections held in 2016. She has been elected as a member of parliament to the

from

Krishnanagar Krishna Nagar or Krishnanagar may refer to: Places India * Krishna Nagar, Delhi ** Krishna Nagar metro station (Delhi) ** Krishna Nagar (Delhi Assembly constituency) * Krishna Nagar, Hyderabad * Krishna Nagar, Lucknow ** Krishna Nagar metro sta ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

. On 13 November 2021, she was appointed TMC party's Goa in-charge to prepare the party for contesting the

2022 Goa Legislative Assembly election : Legislative Assembly elections were held in Goa on 14 February 2022 to elect 40 members of the Eighth Goa Legislative Assembly. The votes were counted and the results were declared on 10 March 2022. Background The tenure of Goa Legislative ...

Lawsuits

On 10 January 2017, Moitra filed a police complaint against

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

MP and

Union Minister The Union Council of Ministers Article 58 of the ''Constitution of India'' is the principal executive organ of the Government of India, which is responsible for being the senior decision making body of the executive branch. It is chaired by t ...

Babul Supriyo Babul Supriyo (born 15 December 1970) is an Indian playback singer, live performer, television host, actor and politician who currently serves as Cabinet Minister of Information Technology and Electronics and Tourism of the Government of Wes ...

for allegedly "insulting her modesty" during a national television debate. The complaint was later dismissed by the

Calcutta High Court The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located in B.B.D. Bagh, Kolkata, West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court buildi ...

. A few days later, Babul Supriyo sent legal notices to Moitra and TMC MPs

Saugata Roy Prof. Saugata Roy (born 6 August 1946) is an Indian politician of Trinamool Congress and a member of parliament in the Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament representing the Dum Dum constituency in the 16th Lok Sabha. He was the Union Minister of ...

and

Tapas Paul Tapas Paul (29 September 1958 – 18 February 2020) was an Indian actor and politician. One of the most celebrated actors of Bengali cinema, Paul is best known for his on-screen romantic collaboration with Mahua Roy Choudhury and Debashree Roy ...

for allegedly defaming him by accusing him of being involved in the Rose Valley ponzi firm scam. In January 2020,

Zee media ''Zee Media Corporation Limited'' (abbreviated as ZMCL; formerly Zee News Limited) is the news broadcasting company of the Essel Group which is controlled by Subhash Chandra. The company is engaged mainly in the business of broadcasting of news ...

filed a

defamatory Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

lawsuit against Moitra for making derogatory statements against the channel while addressing reporters. She has been granted bail and put on trial by a Delhi Court.

Opinions

Political Issues

On 26 June 2019, Moitra pointed out 7 early signs of

fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy an ...

which according to her, are there in India under

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament from ...

's government. She said that constitution on which every MP has sworn to protect is now under threat. In December 2020, Moitra called the

press Press may refer to: Media * Print media or news media, commonly called "the press" * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press (newspaper), a list of newspapers * Press TV, an Iranian television network People * Press (surname), a fam ...

as "2

paisa Paisa (also transliterated as ''pice'', ''pesa'', ''poysha'', ''poisha'' and ''baisa'') is a monetary unit in several countries. The word is also a generalised idiom for money and wealth. In India, Nepal, and Pakistan, the ''Paisa'' currently equa ...

" after which the local news media criticised her heavily and decided to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

her. Her party distanced themselves from her comments. Criticising the judiciary and the current government in the parliament on 8 February 2021, Moitra stated "The sacred cow that was the judiciary is no longer sacred, It stopped being sacred the day a sitting chief justice of this country was accused of sexual harassment, presided over his own trial, cleared himself and then proceeded to accept the nomination to the upper house within three months of retirement, replete with Z+ security cover". The speech caused an uproar in the house with member of the ruling party calling it 'objectionable' and violating parliamentary rules because it mentioned a person in "high authority". Member of opposition supported the speech as it was based on facts which are matters of

public record Public records are documents or pieces of information that are not considered confidential and generally pertain to the conduct of government. For example, in California, when a couple fills out a marriage license application, they have the optio ...

. The remarks were finally expunged from the records. On 11 February 2021, BJP leaders Nishikant Dubey and PP Chowdhary moved a privilege notice against Moitra. On 7 April 2022, Mahua Moitra argued in the parliament that the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Bill, 2022 is even more intrusive than colonial surveillance laws in India.

Social Issues

She condemned the acquittal and thereafter, garlanding of rapists of Bilkis Bano by local

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Modi ...

politicians and VHP workers by calling out their

Islamophobia Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

and hate for women and said that for every BJP Politician who lauds this has "sankari", there exists a

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...

(Hindu Goddess) who will fight back.

'Kaali' controversy

On 5 July 2022 at the India Today Conclave East, while reacting to a film poster showing goddess

smoking a cigarette, Moitra said, “Kaali to me is a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess. You have the freedom to imagine your goddess. There are some places where whiskey is offered to gods and in some other places it would be blasphemy.” Distancing itself from the controversy, her party

issued a statement — “Her views expressed on Goddess Kali have been made in her personal capacity and are not endorsed by the party in any manner or form”, condemning Moitra's remarks. Subsequently, police complaints were filed against Moitra by the Bengal BJP in

and five districts of

, as well as in

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

Personal life

Moitra has revealed that she had lived in Scandinavia and that her former husband was Danish financier Lars Brorson. She expressed admiration for the Scandinavian education, Denmark's healthcare system, claiming that her former husband's mother had two government-provided carers looking after her for free. She hails from a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family and has a sister.

References

External links

Lok Sabha Member Profile

West Bengal Legislative Assembly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moitra, Mahua 1974 births Living people People from Cachar district Politicians from Kolkata West Bengal politicians Trinamool Congress politicians from West Bengal Mount Holyoke College alumni JPMorgan Chase employees Indian expatriates in the United States Indian investment bankers West Bengal MLAs 2016–2021 Women in West Bengal politics Women members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly India MPs 2019–present Lok Sabha members from West Bengal Women members of the Lok Sabha Women in Goa politics 21st-century Indian politicians 21st-century Indian women politicians