Suspended BJD men write to Vajpayee

In view of the present allegations and counter allegations of cross-voting through the use of money power, confining MLAs in hotels and taking them on pleasure trips, makes it a fit case for a CBI inquiry, the letter, copies of which were released to the press here, said.

The five MLAs, who sought to draw a parallel between the present charges and the Jharkhand pay-off case, also wrote another letter to the party chief, Patnaik, urging him to influence the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister so that a CBI probe into the matter was instituted.

As uncertainty inthe party continued with BJD president Naveen Patnaik, leaving here for Delhi on Friday without revoking the suspension orders despite pressure on him by some senior leaders and MPs, the legislators sought to delink the issue of cross-voting in the polls with their suspension.

The signatories to the two letters are Bijoyshree Routray, Kalpataru Das, Suryanarayan Patra, Bishnu Charan Das, and Pravat Tripathy, all suspended from the party eight days ago for indiscipline and anti-party activities.

The letter to Vajpayee said the public mind had been vitiated and the common feeling was that all ethics and morality had been thrown into the dustbin. They said the matter was as dangerous as the Jharkhand pay-off case.

In the letter to Patnaik, the legislators said they had come to know from press reports that he had welcomed our stand for a CBI inquiry on use of money power in the election.

Stating that Patnaik was the leader of the BJD parliamentary party and a member of the Central cabinet, they said hecould well influence the Prime Minister and Home Minister and ensure a CBI probe.