India, Oct. 19 -- Union minister of state for civil aviation and cooperation Murlidhar Mohol on Saturday dismissed allegations linking him to a Rs.230-crore land deal involving a 3.5-acre plot and hostel owned by a Jain trust in Pune's Model Colony, asserting that he had no role in the transaction and had ended all business ties with the developer firm earlier.

"I am not connected to Gokhale Construction. The matter is sub judice, and I stand firmly with the Jain brothers," Mohol said, adding that politicians, like others, can be businessmen, but he had always adhered to the law.

Mohol clarified that the trustees decided to sell the land to a developer during a meeting on December 16 last year and that a tender advertisement was publish...