A day after he found himself in a soup over hiding ownership of a land from the Election Commission Maharashtra Minister for Water Resources Girish Mahajan on Monday said that he did not even remember when he purchased the 4.97 acre piece of land.

The Congress, on Sunday, had alleged that Mahajan did not mention the ownership of the land in his election affidavits in 2004, 2009 and 2014. The records show that Mahajan had purchased the land at Manpur in Bhusawal taluka of Jalgaon district in 2002 allegedly at a price of Rs 20 lakh per acre.

"I don't even remember when I purchased it," Mahajan told India Today on Monday at his office in Mantralaya. "I only recall that some people had approached me in 1999 to make me director of a sugar factory. They had purchased 100 acre of land. Out of which 50 acre was purchased by a family of four for their personal use. They had asked me to sign several papers. I don't even remember whether I had signed the papers or not," he said.

He claimed that there could not be any record of his presence at the registration office because the land registration used to be done without photographs of the seller and the buyer in those days.

"I recall the price of the land was Rs 1.11 lakh at that time not Rs 20 lakh per acre as being alleged. I am also surprised to see how someone has brought forward the said land transaction I don't remember," Mahajan said.

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant has demanded that the election commission should take stringent action against Mahajan for concealing property in his subsequent election affidavits.

Mahajan is the second BJP leader after Eknath Khadse whose name has cropped in a controversy over a land deal. Khadse had resigned as revenue minister on June 4 following the allegation of conflict of interest while deciding the compensation amount for a land his wife Mandakini and son-in-law Girish Choudhary had purchased at Bhosari near Pune on April 27.

Mahajan, known as a close confidant of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, has emerged as a powerful leader in Jalgaon after Khadse's exit. Interestingly, when social activists had raised question why Khadse had not disclosed ownership of land worth of Rs 137 crore in Jalgaon he had retorted, "Why do you ask about my land only. He (Mahajan) also has not disclosed ownership of his land in the affidavit. Why don't you ask the same question to him?"