Dance bar bill passed

Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil caused a flutter in the House this evening, saying politicians and Government officials have invested in

the bars.

Patil, who is also the state Home Minister, said during his 40-minute speech in the Assembly: “Although these dance bars are owned by the Shettys, (the) money of political leaders and some officials… is invested in these bars.

“It (the ban) was a difficult decision for me because there are cases where the real owners of dance bars are some politicians and even police officials. Those who run the bars are only a front for them,’’ he added.

“I am making this statement although I cannot prove this in a court of law,” the Deputy Chief Minister said.

He added that he had received anonymous threats saying he would be killed if he went ahead with the ban. “Those opposed to the ban have gone to the extent of threatening to shoot and kill me,” Patil said.

The Minister claimed the bar owners’ lobby had been raising Rs 20 crore to fight the ban on dance bars.

Opposition MLAs Sudhir Mungantiwar, Bala Andgaonkar, Devendra Phadnavis and Eknath Khadse said the Government should plug loopholes in the bill. They said the ban on bars should be total and luxury hotels, clubs and gymkhanas should not be exempted. Patil told them that the owners of bars and not just their managers would face prosecution.

Some members opposed the rehabilitation of bar girls on the grounds that this would set a bad precedent. But other MLAs like Varsha Gaikwad opposed this, saying poverty had forced the girls into the profession and they needed a helping hand.

The Deputy Chief Minister criticised a few NGOs which had said the ban would adversely affect 75,000 girls working in the bars. He said the bar girls do not number more than 7,500 and only four per cent of them were from Maharashtra. The rest belonged to other states and some were foreigners.

Patil said the state Government would provide employment to the displaced bar girls under the Employment Guarantee Scheme.