Bhubaneswar, June 25: Orissa chief minister Naveen Patnaik has referred the Rajya Sabha horse-trading controversy to the Election Commission of India, apparently to take the sting out of the Opposition attacks on his government.

“After examination by the home and the law departments, the matter has been referred to the Election Commission of India,” said Naveen. The Opposition had been demanding a CBI inquiry into the allegations that two ruling Biju Janata Dal ministers were involved in horse trading.

The political atmosphere in the state was surcharged after the appearance of an audio cassette purportedly showing two ministers, Puspendra Singh Deo and Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak, involved in horse-trading during the Rajya Sabha election held on June 17, 2010.

In the cassette, Singh Deo is reportedly heard explaining how a deal was struck to buy the support of Lanjjigarh MLA Sibaji Majhi at the instance of energy minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak who was acting on behalf of ruling BJD second-in-command, Pyari Mohan Mohapatra.

Within a week of this, another audio tape surfaced purportedly showing BJP MLA Jayanaryan Mishra negotiating with Tara Ranjan Patnaik, the independent candidate in those elections, the price for the support of his party colleague, Hitesh Bagarti.

When the issue snowballed, the state government asked the home department to probe the issue. home secretary U.N. Behera said: “The department had sought the opinion of legal experts. During the inquiry, we had taken all aspects into consideration. The matter has been referred to the Election Commission of India.”

Official sources said the state government, in its report on the issue, had said that the matter was beyond its jurisdiction and the ECI, which holds elections to the Lok Sabha as well as Rajya Sabha, was the competent authority to look into the issue.

Reacting to the government’s decision of handing over the case to the ECI, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Niranjan Patnaik said: “It has been done only to fool the people of the state. When no one has filed a petition before the ECI with regard to irregularities in those elections, how can the ECI look into this matter?” he questioned.

Patnaik further said that by referring the issue to the ECI, the state government has acknowledged that there was prime-facie evidence of foul play. “The government should come out with the truth,” he added.

Eminent lawyer and Congress leader Narasingh Mishra said: “This is nothing but an attempt to divert the attention of the public. They should have handed over the case to the CBI.”

Coming down heavily on the state government, senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra said: “It is a defensive move by the state government.”

State BJP president Jual Oram said the party was deliberating on the issue. “We are exploring the possibility of approaching the judiciary,” he said.