Pune (Maharashtra) [India], February 20 (ANI): Nationalist Congress Party - Sharadchandra Pawar chief Sharad Pawar said that the same draft of the Maratha Reservation Bill, which was earlier passed by his party, has been passed unanimously in the Maharashtra Assembly.

"When we had the government, it could not be done because of the decision of the High Court, later during the time of Devendra Fadnavis, it was cleared by the High Court but was rejected by the Supreme Court. This time too it is the same draft which was passed unanimously by all in the Assembly," Pawar said speaking to reporters on Tuesday.

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The NCP Sharadchandra Pawar chief however cautioned that the court verdicts in the past were not in the state government's favour and it remains to be seen what happens in the top court.

"It has been passed, and now it has to be seen what will happen in the Supreme Court. Hence today we cannot say anything on this, the earlier decisions of the court are not favorable," Pawar said.

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Both houses of the Maharashtra legislature unanimously passed the Maratha Reservation Bill tabled on Tuesday, which intends to extend 10 per cent reservation to Marathas above the 50 per cent cap.

Referring to this, the Chief Minister said that under some exceptional circumstances, the government took the decision to pass the bill and he hopes that it will also stand legal scrutiny.

The state government had convened a one-day special session of the state legislature for tabling and further consideration of this special Bill.

The bill for the 10 per cent Maratha quota that the Mahayuti government of Eknath Shinde has approved on Tuesday is similar to the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes Act, 2018, introduced by the then Devendra Fadnavis government.

This is the third time in a decade that the state has introduced legislation for the Maratha quota.The reservation has been extended based on a report submitted to the state government by the Maharashtra Backward Class Commission (MBCC) headed by chairman Justice (Retired) Sunil Shukre.

The state already has a 10 per cent quota for the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) in which the Marathas are the biggest beneficiaries, claiming about 85 per cent of those.

The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission on Friday submitted a report on the social and educational backwardness of the Maratha community for which it had undertaken a survey of around 2.5 crore homes within only nine days.

The committee proposed a 10 per cent reservation for Marathas in education and jobs, similar to that of the previous bill brought in 2018 by the then-state government. (ANI)

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