NERUL, NAVI MUMBAI, India, 27 April 2008 — With less than 24 hours to go for the crucial Deccan Charter-Mumbai Indians Twenty20 clash in this satellite town of Navi Mumbai, some political leaders advise people to take the cheerleaders sportingly, while others demanded a ban on “vulgarity.”
The Maharashtra government appears to be undecided over the issue of banning the cheerleaders, which has developed into a major political issue.
“Don’t blow the issue out of proportion,” said state Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in the ongoing budget session of the State Legislative Assembly, while answering questions after the Shiv Sena-BJP saffron alliance made a vociferous demand to ban the presence of scantily dress foreign girls.
Deshmukh’s comment came hours after federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi told journalists in New Delhi that the controversy was only on television and not in the minds of people.
“It is not fair to find culture in everything. Those who witness Samba dances during soccer matches can understand what cheering is,” Dasmunshi said referring to the call.
Deshmukh said that the cheerleaders should be taken sportingly. On the other hand, Deshmukh’s deputy and home minister R.R. Patil said, “It’s a prima facie case as it appears that we cannot take action against them. There is no law under which performances by cheerleaders could be banned.”
However, he hastened to add that he had sought a report from the police in this aspect.
When legislators questioned Patil whether the government considered cheerleaders as “obscene,” he said, “Obscenity is a subjective matter. The definition of dance too has wider connotations. For instance, the routine police drill is considered a form of dance. I haven’t seen the cheerleaders’ performance on the cricket field... senior police officers and I will look into the entire case.”
“Also since there is no clear-cut definition of a vulgar dance, it would depend on the investigating officer to decide. If he finds the dancing indecent and submits a report accordingly, we would take necessary action,” Patil said.
Senior police officials told Arab News that in view of the opposition to the cheerleaders from the Shiv Sena and BJP leaders, they do not rule out the possibility of trouble by Sena and BJP workers during the match to be played at the D.Y. Patil ground in Nerul. However, we have made appropriate arrangement to deal with the situation it arises, the police officers said.
A top ranking police official from the State Intelligence Department said that there could also be an element of surprise, as the cheerleaders could not be seen on the ground in view of the strong opposition to their performance. “The organizers would just not be willing to take risk, and would not deploy the cheerleaders at all,” the intelligence official said.
