We are against dance bars, but will follow Supreme Court order: Devendra Fadnavis

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that the Supreme Court (SC) verdict on dance bars has given the government the right to regulate them and the government would do it.

He said the government was against dance bars. 

He was talking to media persons at Vasant Smruti, the BJP's city unit office at Dadar, after a meeting of the party's state unit office-bearers and elected representatives.

Reacting to the SC's interim order, Fadnavis said: “This is an interim order. Since I don't have a judgement copy with me, I am giving a primary reaction. As per my information, the SC has made it clear that state has the right to regulate dance bars and my government would do it.”

When his government came to power, it had given an affidavit in support of the ban, Fadnavis said. If there are some errors in the amendment, the government would rectify them, he said. 

The chief minister said that the Congress-NCP government banned dance bars in 2005 and his government support the move. 

Bring strong law to prevent dance bars – Vikhe-Patil
The Congress says it is also opposed to dance bars. Leader of Opposition in state assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said that state government should bring an ordinance to ban dance bars. 

He said that the Congress was in favour of a strong law to prevent dance bars. He said that in 2005, the Congress-NCP government banned dance bars when late R R Patil was home minister, taking into account the negative effects on society. He suggested that the state government should take all legal steps on the SC's interim order to ban dance bars.