Dance bar owners who were sulking after the DF government’s recent amendment to the Maharashtra Police Act to ban dances in all grades of hospitality centres, have received support from a totally unexpected quarter – NCP senior politician and former aviation minister Praful Patel.

Patel brought the dissension within the NCP out in the open when he tweeted on the controversial issue. Echoing the sentiments of a large section of Mumbai, he said: "Maha Assembly dance bar legislation: people don't want moral policing, they want to feel safe."

The DF government this week banned dance bars even in star-grade hotels, turning an SC observation—on the disparity between starred and non-starred hotels—on its head. In a riposte to Patel’s tweet, the party’s spokesperson, Ankush Kakde, said. "His (Patel's) views are personal,"

"There is no change in the dance bar policy," he added.