MUMBAI: Unfazed by the Supreme Court rap, the BJP-led state government is firm it won't allow dance bars to operate in the state. It may file a review petition in the SC, but is more likely to move a new bill to thwart dance bars in the budget session in July."We want to protect the social and cultural fabric of the state. In the state of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, we will not allow our mothers and sisters to be engaged in a job that is below their dignity. If need be, we will bring an ordinance and ensure that dance bars do not open again," finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar told TOI . He pointed out that all parties were united on the issue.An ordinance is valid for six months and is likely to be used to block dance bar owners till the budget session, by which time the Lok Sabha polls would have been over. Earlier, two ordinances to ban dance bars have proved short-lived.Officials explained that the government cannot amend the existing Maharashtra Prohibition of Obscene Dance in Hotels, Restaurants and Bar Rooms and Protection of Dignity of Women (Working therein) Act, 2016, because the SC has upheld its constitutional validity. If the government wants to introduce new clauses, they will have to come up with an ordinance which can be converted into a new law."We are legally scrutinising the SC verdict. All the options before us will be discussed in the next cabinet meeting, where a decision will be taken," said Mungantiwar. Reminded that the new ordinance or law too can be challenged in the court, the minister said they will keep fighting and not give up.Echoing the minister, a senior bureaucrat said the plan is to bring in a comprehensive bill to ban dance bars in the budget session. A CCTV network will be installed outside the dance bar, owners will be asked to secure no objection from local residents, and rules for securing no objection certificate for fire will be made more stringent, he added.Officials said the SC order is not a setback for them, but after it removed several unrealistic conditions, it could be possible for dance bars to re-open. They pointed out that two main restrictive clauses in the 2016 law had been retained: the 11.30pm deadline and the obscenity clause that prescribes a jail term of three years."Even if a single dance bar reopens, it will prove to be a failure of the BJP-led government and could be a threat for the elections. Hence, the government won't allow dance bars to revive. And if a review petition is filed, it would help the government buy some more time on the issue," said an official.Anil Parab, leader of Shiv Sena , BJP's ruling partner, urged that the new ordinance must be so framed that it can stand the scrutiny of courts.(With inputs from Prafulla Marpakwar)

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