Wednesday, April 27 2005 08:16 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh last night (Apr 26, 2005) said his Government was considering all legal aspects of its decision to ban dance bars in the State before implementing the same.

"We have taken a decision to ban dance bars but orders are not issued as yet," Deshmukh told reporters in New Delhi after a meeting with Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

"The Government had given permission to run dance bars under the present set of rules. If the decision to ban it is to be implemented a whole set of rules need to be changed," he said.

The Chief Minister said legal advice was being taken on the implementation of the decision.

He said that the question of rehabilitating bar girls did not arise, as the Government had not banned dance bars as yet.

Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil had recently ordered a ban on dance bars in the State saying they encouraged crimes and created social problems, including insecurity to women residing in the vicinity of dance bars.

A group of bar girls from Mumbai had met Sonia on Friday (Apr 29, 2005) and urged her to get the ban on dance bars in Maharashtra lifted.

The issue of ban on dance bars figured in the meeting Deshmukh had with Sonia, which was attended by political secretary to Congress president Ahmed Patel, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of Maharashtra Margaret Alva and Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Prabha Rau.

Asked about Bangladeshi girls working in dance bars, Deshmukh said he did not have any problem with them working in the State provided they came with proper authority.

He said the number of bar girls with legal licences did not exceed 20,000. "There are bars that operate without licence."

He said the percentage of bar girls from out of the State was being ascertained.

Asked to comment on reports in a section of the media suggesting the ouster of Rau, Deshmukh said he had not read any such reports.

Rau said matters related to the State unit of the party were not discussed at the meeting.

Rau also had a meeting with Sonia in the afternoon and is understood to have discussed the issue of Cabinet expansion and greater coordination between the State Government and the party on policy decisions.

Several MLAs have been camping in the capital lobbying for a place in the Council of Ministers.

Under a power-sharing arrangement arrived at with coalition partner Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), the Congress can appoint 18 Ministers out of a total 43. Congress had inducted 15 Ministers when the Government was sworn-in in November last year, leaving three Ministerial berths vacant.