Activist Damania visits ‘dance bar’, demands resignation of Shiv Sena minister Yogesh Kadam

Damania also asked chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to get all state ministers to disclose their business links if any.

Mumbai: Activist Anjali Damania on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Maharashtra’s junior home minister Yogesh Kadam over his alleged links to an illegal dance bar in Kandivali, saying she had visited the establishment and was planning to initiate legal action against the Shiv Sena leader based on her findings. Damania also asked chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to get all state ministers to disclose their business links if any.

Anjali Damania waded into the controversy, saying she had visited Savali Bar and learnt that it was an orchestra bar. (HT Photo)

The remarks came days after Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Anil Parab alleged that the Savali Bar in Kandivali, whose licence is in the name of Kadam’s mother Jyoti, had been illegally turned into a dance bar. He had claimed that the police raided the establishment in May and found that it was a dance bar with 22 bar girls. The Kadams refuted the allegations, saying the bar was being run by someone else, and threatened to sue Parab for defamation.

On Wednesday, Damania waded into the controversy, saying she had visited the establishment and learnt that Savali was an orchestra bar, which is supposed to have live musical performances and up to five women standing on a stage, but no dancing.

Damania also said that she intends to file a legal complaint against Kadam. “I am going to initiate legal action in this matter. So, before that, I wanted to check the ground reality and collect a copy of the FIR and other documents for legal action,” she said.

On the Kadam family refuting the allegations, Damania said, “The Kadam family claims they did nothing wrong. But if nothing wrong was going on, why was the Savali Bar shut [by the police]?”