Bijay moots consensus for third RS candidate

BHUBANESWAR: Former minister and senior BJP leader Bijay Mohapatra on Tuesday proposed that there should be a consensus between the BJD and Opposition parties on the third candidate for the Rajya Sabha. Mohapatra said the BJD and the Opposition should finalise a panel of names from which a candidate should be selected. When the Government and the Opposition can talk on appointment of Lokpal and information commissioners, why this should not be extended to selection of Rajya Sabha candidates, he said. The BJP leader observed that horsetrading takes place because the selection process of candidates is not transparent. There should be complete transparency in the selection of candidates to check underhand deals for victory of candidates without numbers, he said. Stating that there has been no progress in the inquiry of the horsetrading incident in the 2010 Rajya Sabha polls, Mohapatra wanted to know the fate of the probe. Where is the inquiry, he said and added that everybody is now silent after an FIR was filed on the issue. Horsetrading in 2010 polls was a big scandal in which the involvement of two ministers was alleged, but there is no discussion on the incident now, he said.  Mohapatra demanded that the inquiry should be completed at the earliest as the people of the State have a right to know the truth.