December 10: Leader of the opposition Chhagan Bhujbal today categorically denied knowing Rajendra Agrawal alias Gupta. He also denied having guided him to defect from the Shiv Sena to the Congress. Counsel for Gupta, Advocate Shirish Gupte, submitted newspaper clippings of a function at Shahada in Dhule district in which senior Janata Dal leader P K Anna Patil defected to Congress. Apart from Bhujbal, veteran Congress leaders like Sharad Pawar and then Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik were present.

Gupte asked Bhujbal if he had welcomed Gupta to the Congress as reported, which Bhujbal denied. When asked if he was indicted by the Malvankar Commission set up to inquire into riots that broke out between Dalits and upper caste Hindus in Nasik district in 1986, he replied in the negative. The counsel then informed the commission that he would produce the report of the commission to substantiate his claim. He also admitted having met Union Home Secretary K Padmanabhaiya, but denied that he had urged him to deny a statement by Home Minister Inderjit Gupta that Bhujbal had links with the mafia. Gundewar, however, ruled that this had no relevance with the terms and reference of the commission. The commission also did not allow some questions put forward to the witness by Sena counsel Adhik Shirodkar on the ground that these were defamatory to Bhujbal and his party.

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