The “deal” for reopening dance bars was struck in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's official bungalow, Varsha, the Opposition parties alleged on Thursday. They said that BJP leaders got a payout from bar owners to have the establishments back in business across Maharashtra. NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said that Chief Minister Fadnavis himself called a meeting with representatives of dance bar associations at Varsha recently to figure out how to reopen the bars. “The meeting also attended by BJP Mumbai unit president Ashish Shelar and party leader Shaina NC. The chief minister worked as a facilitator in this high-profile multicrore deal,” Nawab alleged. “We demand a high-level inquiry into the matter. When our government assumes power, we will impose the ban on dance bars again. We will not allow them to function again and spoil families and youth,” Malik said. State Congress president Ashok Chavan alleged that the BJP government is hand-in-glove with bar owners. “The dance bar owners had contributed to the Chief Minister's relief fund. The BJP was never in favour of banning dance bars. They wanted to reopen the business, and today, they took the back door to restart them. The former Congress-NCP regime banned these dance bar activities because we are concerned about our people,” Chavan said. Minister of State for Home (Urban) Dr Ranjit Patil said the order did not take into account “the adverse opinion of the people of the state against dance bars”. He said the state government would strive to ensure that “no untoward precedent in the name of dance bars” would be set. Patil said the government would decide its course of action after studying the SC judgment. He said the order had upheld many conditions laid down by the state while formulating the law, including prevention of obscenity, restrictions on showering money and an agreement being signed between dance bar owners and dancers.

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