Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis constitutes panel to study draft law on dance bar ban

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday announced formation of an all-party committee to discuss a draft bill prepared by the government to prohibit dance bars in the state.

The Supreme Court had scrapped the earlier law banning dance bars in Maharashtra, terming it "unconstitutional".

Making a suo motu statement in the Legislative Council on the issue today, Fadnavis said, "We have decided to form a committee, headed by me and including members of the Assembly and Council, which will discuss the draft bill before it is tabled in the ongoing session."

Members of the committee include Eknath Khadse, Diwakar Raote, Chandrakant Patil, Neelam Gorhe, Devyani Farande, Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Dhananjay Munde, Jayant Patil, Vijay Girkar, Ganpatrao Deshmukh, Jayant Patil (PWP), Sanjay Kute, Sanjay Dutt, Atul Bhatkhalkar and Imtiaz Jalil.

Legislative Council Chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar had on March 11 directed that a joint committee be formed after Fadnavis called for a strong law against the dance bars that would withstand the scrutiny in the courts.