Mumbai's corridors of power were abuzz the whole day with news of the presence of film financier Bharat Shah at the wedding of Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal’s son Pankaj yesterday. By evening today, Bhujbal’s office was calling up the media to clarify that Bhujbal, who is also the Home Minister, did not invite Shah, in jail for his alleged links with the underworld.‘‘Certainly, it was a major embarrassment for me. The moment I saw the tainted film financier, I was shocked. I never invited him to my son’s marriage reception,’’ Bhujbal told The Indian Express. Shah, however, said: ‘‘I was invited.’’So did Shah gatecrash at the wedding? Bhujbal crosschecked on the entry of Shah and found that he had come on the invitation of Mukesh Gandhi, a senior NCP leader, in charge of the organisation’s Gujarati wing.‘‘It was beyond my capacity to deliver invitation to individuals. I personally handed over invitation cards to select persons. So, I had given the responsibility to senior office-bearers of the party to draft a list of invitees. I did not see the final list, but I never expected that an invitation will be sent to Shah too,’’ Bhujbal said.When asked if Shah would take advantage of the photos published in the media, Bhujbal declined to comment. Besides Bhujbal and his family members, even senior police officers were shocked. Bhujbal had taken the initiative in launching investigations into Shah’s alleged underworld links and was considered instrumental in the latter’s detention under the Maharashtra Prevention of Organised Crime Act. Though Shah was released on bail by the Supreme Court after a year-long judicial custody, the case is still pending before the designated court. Erstwhile Shiv Sena leader Mukesh Gandhi, who recently joined the NCP, confirmed that he had invited Shah to the reception. ‘‘I had taken some cards from Bhujbal’s office for delivering them to prominent members of the Gujarati community. One was delivered to Shah. There was no ulterior motive. It was given in a routine manner since Shah is an important member of our community.’’ Gandhi does not see how Shah’s presence could cause any kind of embarrassment to Bhujbal. ‘‘Why should it cause any embarrassment to Bhujbal? I had not given it to him (Shah) with that intention in mind,’’ Gandhi said, adding that the whole issue had been blown out of proportion.
