"Maharashtra was first state to make policies for women", says Sharad Pawar

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar stated on Tuesday that Maharashtra was the first state to make policies for women. When I was defence minister, we made 11 percent reservation for women in the defence forces. Such decisions were taken during the Congress government. It’s unfortunate that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was not briefed properly in this regard, and that is why he made such statements against Congress.

His statement comes a day after PM Modi said in Madhya Pradesh that the Congress and its allies in the new ghamandia (arrogant) alliance supported the Women's Reservation Bill in Parliament reluctantly. Addressing a press conference here, Pawar said, PM Narendra Modi spoke of Congress and ghamandia allies supporting the Women's Reservation Bill reluctantly. But this is not true. All of us have wholeheartedly supported the bill. The PM was not appropriately briefed.

He said that on June 24, 1994, the Congress government headed by him in Maharashtra had unveiled a women's policy which was the first in the country. Similarly, the Congress government at the Centre had brought the 73rd constitutional amendment, which paved the way for 33 per cent quota for women in local bodies, the NCP founder said.