The Maharashtra government on Thursday said it will check if any untoward activity is taking place under the guise of dance bars. The reaction came after the Supreme Court quashed some of the stringent rules prescribed by the State, which led to the virtual shutdown of dance bars.
Education Minister Vinod Tawde said the government presented its case well before the apex court. Minister of State for Home (Urban), Ranjit Patil, said the SC has agreed to several provisions of the State law on dance bars, including time restrictions and no showering of currency notes on performers.
“The State has not received a written copy of the court order. Once we get it, we will study it and decide the further course of action. We are committed to abiding by the court’s verdict. Within the ambit of the decision, we will maintain vigilance so that no untoward activities take place under the guise of dance bars,” Mr. Patil said.
Opposition parties, however, alleged a nexus between the State and the dance bar owners’ association to ensure the ban on dance bars is lifted by presenting a weak defence in the SC.
“Two years ago, there was a secret meeting with the dance bar owners’ association at the Chief Minister’s residence, which was facilitated by two leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Ashish Shelar and Shaina NC. Huge amount of money was exchanged. If voted to power in 2019, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will once again ban dance bars,” NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said.
Mr. Shelar refuted the allegation and said no such meeting had taken place, and Mr. Malik needs to visit a doctor to check his mental condition.
Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan asked how much money the BJP has collected to ensure it loses the case in the apex court. “The Congress government honestly worked towards closing down dance bars which destroyed thousands of families. In 2016, dance bar owners publicly donated for the CM’s relief fund. Almost each and every condition put up by the government has been rejected by the court due to a weak defence,” he said.
Mr. Chavan said for the BJP government, the election fund that the party gets from dance bar owners is more important than the future of thousands of families.
