(IANS)
NEW DELHI: Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on Friday defended his party, NCP’s decision to give tickets to candidates with criminal backgrounds for the upcoming civic polls, saying no one should be considered a criminal until proven guilty.Pawar’s remarks came after Union minister and BJP leader Murlidhar Mohol criticised the NCP for fielding candidates with alleged criminal links. Responding to Mohol, Pawar said, “Everyone knows I never support such elements.”The Ajit Pawar-led NCP has given tickets to Sonali Andekar, daughter-in-law of gang leader Suryakant alias Bandu Andekar, and his sister-in-law Laxmi Andekar through its ally RPI (Sachin Kharat faction). All three are accused in the murder of Bandu Andekar’s grandson Ayush Komkar and are currently in jail. The NCP is in alliance with the RPI (Sachin Kharat) for the Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad civic polls scheduled for January 15.“I will come up with a list of candidates who have been given the tickets by NCP, and other alliance partners including RPI (Sachin Kharat faction),” Pawar said.He also cited allegations against himself, adding, “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 even before it is proved?”In an apparent reference to gangster Nilesh Ghaywal, who fled the country amid a firing case against him, Pawar questioned, “Who helped the person to escape?” as quoted by PTI. Speaking at a press conference in Pimpri Chinchwad, Pawar highlighted alleged irregularities in the local civic body, which he said had been pushed into debt over recent years. “This municipal corporation was once known as the richest in Asia. It even received awards as the best city of India when NCP was in power and achieved many such milestones. Yet, despite being so wealthy, it was never pushed into debt,” he said.“Over the past few years, deposits have been steadily declining. Deposits worth nearly Rs 8,000 crore have been depleted. Fine, that may be so, but at least show work that matches this expenditure,” Pawar added.From 2017 to 2022, the BJP was in power in PCMC. Since 2022, it has been under a government-appointed administrator. Pawar said, “If the NCP comes in power, a probe will be initiated into all these irregularities.”
