Shiv Sena criticises SC verdict on bar dancers

MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Thursday criticised the Supreme Court verdict lifting the seven-year ban on bar dancers in Maharashtra and asked whether courts are ruling the country.

"Courts don't allow government to function. As a result the administration becomes lax. If courts are going to interfere in all walks then let judges get elected from among the people. This is the only way," an editorial in the party mouthpiece Saamana said.

"Who exactly governs the country is a question we are asking. The practice of forcing a decision taken by the government to be thrown into dustbin is now rampant," the Sena said.

The Maharashtra government had banned bar dancers in 2005 calling them obscene and a breeding ground for criminals in a decision that saw a rare unity between Congress and the opposition Shiv Sena.