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Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has responded to the BJP's criticism of the criminal backgrounds of Nationalist Congress Party candidates in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) polls, citing his own example and stressing that no one is guilty until proven in a court of law.
Without naming the BJP, Ajit Pawar said he is part of the government, which had once levelled allegations of an irrigation scam against him. "I want to ask those who are questioning us, they should see who helped a person to abscond (a fugitive Criminal) and also take out the record of the last 15 years, how many candidates with Criminal backgrounds have been filled by whom?" he said. "If a crime is registered against someone tomorrow, does that person become guilty even before the crime is proven....even allegations worth Rs 70,000 crore were made against me ..The people who made those allegations against me are they all with me today or not? Tell me," he added. Pawar's remark came after MoS Murlidhar Mohol questioned why the NCP was fielding candidates with criminal backgrounds in Pune. Mohol said, "Pune's Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar says that crime in this city should end and that koyta gangs should be eliminated. But on the other hand, if you look at the list of candidates given by his side from East Pune to South and from there to North Pune, it clearly shows what kind of elements they have accommodated. We do not know what criteria this fits into." The political face-off between the BJP and the NCP has intensified ahead of the Pune Municipal Corporation elections. While both parties are allies in the state and central governments, they are contesting the civic polls separately, leading to sharp exchanges at the local level. Ajit Pawar' faction has reunited with Sharad Pawar's faction of NCP for the Pune Municipal Corporation elections, forcing Mahayuti alliance partners to go against each other. (ANI)
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