New Delhi: Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and his deputy RPN Singh today rejected the allegation levelled by 2007 Ajmer blast accused Bhavesh Patel that they had pressured him to implicate top RSS functionaries in the case, saying they do not know him.
"I do not know any Bhavesh Patel. I have never met him. If someone takes my name, what can I do," Shinde told reporters here when asked for comment on the allegation.
In a five-page petition to a NIA court, Patel had claimed that meetings were arranged with Shinde, Minister of State for Home RPN Singh, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal and senior Congress leaders like Digvijay Singh who wanted him to name RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and another top functionary Indresh Kumar.
"I deny this totally. Allegations are baseless. I was not even the Minister of State for Home at the time he was referring to. It has been only 11 months since I took charge in the Home Ministry," RPN Singh said.
