After dithering for weeks, the Speaker finally dispatched a letter to Congress MP, A B A Ghani Chaudhary, asking him to clarify whether he himself had voted when the motion on President's Rule in Bihar was put to vote in the House on the night of February 26.

A highly placed source in the Speaker's office said that a letter has indeed been sent last week. When contacted, Chaudhary told The Indian Express from Malda that he would reply to the query after his return to the Capital in a couple of days.

Though the motion was carried by an overwhelming majority of 29 votes, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs, Ram Naik, complained that Chaudhary's signature might have been there on the slip, but the MP was not present in the House at the time of voting. Even the Speaker said that the MP had not taken hispermission before leaving the House.

Though Chaudhary's lone vote would not have made a difference on the outcome, Naik insisted that if a bogus vote had been cast, the matter must be probed. Naik privately alleged that instead of Chaudhary, another prominent Congress MP signed on the voting slip, which is nothing but forgery. The ruling party is of the view that if a formal probe is ordered on the issue, it would embarrass the Congress for indulging in forgery in the Lok Sabha -- an unprecedented act in parliamentary history.

Though no time limit has been set for Ghani Khan Chaudhary to reply to the Speaker's missive, the Congress MP has been informally told to reply within a fortnight.

Since this is the first case of an MP being asked to testify in writing whether he voted or not, sources say the ruling party would challenge Ghani Khan Chaudhary's claim and insist on seeking the opinion of handwriting experts to ascertain the truth.