Following the recent controversy involving Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra and the ‘Cash for Questions’ scandal, the central government has implemented a significant change in the system that affects all Members of Parliament. Now, no MP will be allowed to share their login ID and password with anyone. This development stems from allegations made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Nishikant Dubey, who claimed that Mahua Moitra had shared her parliamentary portal ID and password with a businessperson, and login activity was traced back to Dubai. In response, Mahua Moitra defended herself, stating that her associates had logged in from Dubai.
A major overhaul in Parliament’s website access
The central government has now revamped the system, disabling access for MPs’ secretaries and personal assistants through the digital parliamentary portal and apps. Access to these functionalities, such as submitting questions for parliamentary sessions, email access, and submitting travel allowance (TA) bills, will now be exclusive to the MPs themselves. The official notification from the Parliament Secretariat regarding these changes is yet to be released.
The ethics committee of the Lok Sabha had found Mahua Moitra guilty of sharing her official email password with an external individual. In light of this decision, the Parliament portal and app will no longer permit the sharing of passwords and one-time passwords (OTPs). It is anticipated that several MPs may face challenges due to their limited knowledge of the new procedures.
Under the previous system, MPs could share their login credentials with their secretaries or assistants by providing their employee’s email ID and mobile number to the Lok Sabha Secretariat. Subsequently, these individuals could also access the parliamentary portal. However, this practice is no longer permissible.
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