Updated July 4th, 2019 at 14:35 IST
TMC MP Mahua Moitra dismisses plagiarism charges on her speech, says one who wrote the article has clarified
Mahua Moitra, Trinamool Congress MP quoted Martin Longman's tweet to claim that her speech was not plagiarised
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Mahua Moitra, Trinamool Congress MP from West Bengal's Krishnanagar constituency, whose maiden speech in the Parliament on 'seven signs of fascism' went viral last week, has expressed dismay over the plagiarism charges levelled against her. She blamed the BJP's 'troll army' for the accusation.
"Plagiarism is when one does not disclose one's source. My source as mentioned categorically in my speech was the poster from the Holocaust Museum created by the political scientist Dr. Laurence W. Brit pointing out the 14 signs of early fascism," Moitra said in a statement. "I found 7 signs relevant to India and spoke at length about each of them," she added.
Tweets have been doing the rounds quoting a Washington Monthly article alleging that the TMC parliamentarian had lifted parts of her speech in the Lok Sabha from an article published on "12 early warning signs of fascism", which referred to the US and President Donald Trump. She also slammed the media alleging that Martin Longman has tweeted against Indian media and has said that she was 'falsely accused'.
The first-time MP from West Bengal's Krishnanagar said the article quoted from the same poster that she had referred to in her speech. The 42-year-old, who is a former investment banker, trended on social media after her speech on June 25 during a debate on the president's address.
"My speech came from the heart and every Indian who has shared it did so from their heart. The hits were organic, not BOT controlled. I repeat.... 'Bandhney mujhey tu aaya hai. Zanjeer badi kya laya hai' (you have come to chain me, are your shackles enough)?" Moitra added.
(with agency inputs)
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Published July 3rd, 2019 at 20:00 IST