‘Could bring ordinance to protect dance bar ban’

MUMBAI: Even as senior Maharashtra minister Sudhir Mungantiwar on Friday said that the state would promulgate an ordinance, if needed, to keep the ban on dance bars intact, bar owners are skeptical that relaxations by the Supreme Court would help them run business normally.

“The ban on dance bars was imposed with a view to protect the cultural fabric of the state and hence, even through the Supreme Court has done away with certain restrictions, if needed, the state can reinstate them by promulgating an ordinance,” Mungantiwar said.

“As of now, there doesn’t seem to be any need to do so as the key restrictions have not been touched by the apex court,” the minister added. One of the prominent Marathi newspapers, while reporting the issue of the SC order published the news under headline “Aab ki Bar Dance Bar” — mocking the “Ab Ki bar, Modi Sarkar” slogan of the BJP-led Central government. 

“This is indicative of the sentiments of the common man and we have always been of the opinion that the courts need to take into consideration the sentiments of the common man,” said state BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari. On the other hand, bar owners are also skeptical.

The restrictions imposed by the 2016 act, some of which were set aside by the apex court on Thursday, are so tough that only three bars could get licenses to operate as dance bars under it. However, they too eventually went back to be ‘orchestra’ bars, said an owner of one of those bars.

Another bar owner, said that except one measure, which states that a police constable is permanently deputed inside the bar, all others are relaxed by the police during operations and hence dance bars can be run even on ‘orchestra’ permits.