Amid unification talk Ajit praises Sharad Pawar for passage of women's quota bill

Mumbai/Pune, May 17 (PTI) Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday praised his uncle and NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar for the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill that provided 33 per cent quota to women in local bodies when the latter was chief minister.
"Saheb (Sharad Pawar) was chief minister at the time and it was my first term as MLA. He said the House should not be adjourned till the bill is passed. We passed the bill after debate at 3:30am," the deputy CM said at an event in Pune.
"If a woman can manage her household and children, she can also manage a village or municipal council. That is the belief they have (in themselves). That is why such reservation was granted. Countries that respect women are the ones that progress," he said.
The Deputy CM also said girls were progressing in every field today "without getting distracted by boys".
"In earlier times, girls did not get opportunities for education. However, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule started the first school for girls in Pune, making education accessible to them. The journey that began then has brought us to where we are today," he said.
Ajit Pawar said the state government has taken over Bhide Wada, where this school was started, and work was underway to construct a huge monument to honour the legendary couple.
Ajit Pawar's praise for Sharad Pawar comes amid political buzz of a rapprochement between the factions headed by the two Pawars.
The Nationalist Congress Party split in July 2023 after Ajit Pawar joined the then Eknath Shinde government. The Election Commission later gave the NCP name and clock symbol to the faction led by the Deputy CM, while the one under Sharad Pawar was christened NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar).
Both factions have called the rapprochement talk as guesswork.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)