The West Bengal Assembly polls are over, but the aftershocks of the fall of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government are still being felt. Amid this, retired Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju stirred a controversy with a provocative tweet, terming three Members of Parliament of the Trinamool Congress to the three witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. This sparked a heated war of words between TMC MP Mahua Moitra and the former SC judge, with the cash-for-query case making a comeback.
Katju likened TMC MP Mahua Moitra, actress-politician Saayoni Ghosh and ex-journalist and Rajya Sabha member Sagarika Ghose to the three witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The trio, he suggested in a post on X with pointed speculation, might soon trade their green-and-orange [colours of the TMC] for the [BJP’s] saffron.
Days ago, the retired Supreme Court judge even urged Mamata Banerjee to don gherua (saffron) attire, retire to a Himalayan cave for penance, and let her “chamchis” — the self-same “witches” — attend to her needs.
Many on X labelled Katju’s remarks as misogynistic. Katju evoked Shakespeare’s scheming weird sisters to caricature the three TMC leaders who have been vocal critics of the BJP.
Katju is known for problematic remarks. In 2025, he was forced to apologise for saying that women lawyers who “winked” at him secured favourable orders.
Katju remains celebrated and derided, depending on the remarks and the quarters, for his unfiltered online persona.
Mahua Moitra wrote on X, “Sir @mkatju — with due respect I must correct you. Unlike many others of your ilk who need to be secret Sanghis for post-retirement sinecures, I sacrificed my youth & career because I believe in my cause. Please don’t make unfounded claims in sensitive times. Regards.”
The exchange might have ended there, but Katju doubled down.
KATJU BRINGS UP CASH-FOR-QUERY CASE
In a follow-up post, Katju revived the allegations of the “cash-for-query” scandal.
Katju asked, in effect, whether it was not correct that she had been accused of accepting bribes from Dubai-based businessman Darshan Hiranandani to target the Adani Group in Parliament, of sharing her Lok Sabha login credentials with him, and of receiving cash and luxury gifts reportedly worth over Rs 20 crore.
He noted that BJP MP Nishikant Dubey and advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai — described by Moitra as a “jilted ex” — had levelled these charges, claiming that roughly 50 of her 61 questions in the House had focused on Adani.
The allegations had rocked Parliament in October 2023.
Hiranandani himself submitted a statement admitting he had used Moitra’s login to frame and upload questions. The Lok Sabha Ethics Committee found her conduct unethical, and recommended expulsion. On December 8, 2023 the House voted her out.
Moitra has always maintained her innocence, insisting the questions were her own, that any assistance was purely logistical, and that the gifts (a scarf, cosmetics, logistical help) were innocuous tokens of friendship.
Remarkably, Moitra bounced back, winning re-election in 2024 from Krishnanagar on a TMC ticket and remaining a sitting MP.
While the CBI case against Moitra might have hit a dead end, the cash-for-query case refuses to die, with Katju bringing it up again to attack her.
– Ends
Published By:
Anand Singh
Published On:
May 13, 2026 17:38 IST
