BHUBANESWAR: The horse-trading incident in 2010 Rajya Sabha polls has taken a new turn with the President of India, Pratibha Patil, directing the Election Commission of India (ECI) to inquire into the matter. The directive from the President is said to have come following a petition filed by Independent MLA George Tirkey before her last month seeking disqualification of Rajya Sabha member Pyari Mohan Mohapatra, who he alleged was involved in horse- trading.Sources said the ECI has again written to the State Government and the chief electoral officer on the issue. However, the CEO did not want to reveal the contents of the letter to the media. The police filed an FIR at the Capital police station on September 13 without naming anyone following direction from the State Government to investigate the matter. Earlier, the Chief Minister had referred the case the ECI. The ECI had directed the Home Department to investigate. Three MLAs, two from the Congress, Shibaji Majhi and Gregory Minz and one MLA from BJP Bhimsen Choudhury had remained absent from voting as a result of which all the three BJD candidates had won without having adequate numbers. An audio CD had brought the allegation to the fore that two ministers of state Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and Pushpendra Singhdeo were involved in the purchase of Congress MLA Shibaji Majhi.
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