Congress-NCP has demanded that the state come up with a new Act to ban dance bars till March 15.
Congress-NCP has demanded that the state come up with a new Act to ban dance bars till March 15. Opposition leaders from PWP, MNS, MIM and a few independents chose to boycott the customary tea party hosted by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on the eve of the legislature session. However, they did attend the tea party convened by Speaker of the house, Haribhau Bagde and council chairman, Ramraje Nimbalkar, at Vidhan Bhavan. After holding a meeting of all Opposition parties, it was unanimously decided to raise issues of the dance bar ban and the drought situation in the state on an urgent basis. “We want the government to ban dance bars by bringing a fresh Act till March 15. We will all support and approve it. The government should bring the Act in the first week of the legislature itself,” said leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Dhananjay Munde.
With the Supreme Court having given the state a deadline of March 15 to appeal its decision of allowing dance bars to reopen, the issue of dance bars has once again taken centre-stage, even as the state continues to grapple with the worst-ever drought in recent years.
Mr Fadnavis said, “We will bring in a firm law in this Budget session that will bar dance bars from opening in the state. In the past, when we were in the Opposition, we had twice supported the Congress and NCP to pass the Bill. Today, when we are trying to earnestly do something, the Opposition is playing politics over the issue.” Meanwhile, Varsha Kale from the Bar Girls’ Association said, “There is no need to bring a fresh act to ban dance bars. Instead, we should respect the Supreme Court’s verdict and the state government should regulate bars. I am in favour of adult entertainment and hence, dance bars should be reopened.” Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, termed ministers’ recent tour to drought-hit Marathwada as “drought tourism” and said, “What was the government actually trying to prove from the visit In fact, 224 farmers’ suicides were reported in the last three months. There are no fodder camps for animals, no water, and no aid for farmers. We are firm on our demand of complete loan waiver to farmers. Shiv Sena is independently helping the farmers. But why can’t the party do the same from the government’s side when they are a part of it ” Former finance minister and NCP leader, Jayant Patil, expressed apprehension about the state’s weak financial condition.
“It is reported that the state has spent only 42 per cent of the funds and 58 per cent are yet to be spent. The government has cut down on development schemes, made announcements to help drought-ridden farmers but still, funds remained unspent. Now it will try to show a no deficit budget by counting the funds that have not been spent. But in reality, all their revenue resources have dried up,” he said.
