Pune, Jan. 3 -- 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, ...