India, Jan. 3 -- Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Friday defended his party's decision to give tickets to candidates with criminal backgrounds for upcoming civic elections, claiming he himself faced allegations of orchestrating a Rs.70,000 crore irrigation scam and asserted no one is a criminal till proven guilty.

Responding to criticism from Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Murlidhar Mohol, who had accused the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) of fielding candidates with criminal links, he said, "Everybody knows that allegations of a Rs.70,000 crore irrigation scam were levelled against me. Today, I am in power alongside those who made those allegations. Can a person be labelled guilty ...