Feature
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar win confidence vote
Patna: The Nitish Kumar government today won the crucial confidence vote floor test in the Bihar Assembly, securing 131 votes against the opposition’s 108.
The ruling coalition of the JD(U), BJP and others got 131 votes while the opposition got 108 votes, Speaker Vijay Kumar Chowdhury said.
The trust vote was taken through lobby division.
The NDA had earlier submitted a list of 132 MLAs to the governor. These include 71 of JD(U), BJP 53, RLSP two, LJP two, HAM one and three Independents.
In the 243-member Bihar Assembly, the RJD has 80 MLAs, the Congress 27 and the CPI-ML has three.
The Nitish Kumar government today won the crucial floor test in the Bihar Assembly, securing 131 votes against the opposition’s 108.
Four members in the 243-member house could not vote, reducing the total strength of the house during the trust vote to 239.
With the effective strength of the House reduced to 239 during voting, Bihar’s new government needed 120 votes to win the confidence vote.
While Raj Bhallav Yadav of the RJD could not attend as he is in jail, BJP’s Anand Shankar Pandey was absent as he is undergoing medical treatment outside the state. Congress’ Sudarshan could not vote due to technical reasons as he was out of the House when the doors were shut for lobby division.
Speaker Vijay Kumar Chaudhary did not participate in the voting.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi did not take part in the voting as both are members of the Legislative Council. However, they were present in the house.
In the voting under lobby division, members in favour of the confidence vote went inside one lobby where they signed a register; those against it headed for another lobby and signed a register.
At the end, the speaker announced the result of the trust vote, with 131 in favour of the NDA and 108 against it.
The 131 votes in favour of Nitish Kumar comprised JD(U) 70, BJP 52, HAM 1, RLSP 2, LJP 2 and Independent 4.
The 108 votes against it comprised RJD 79, Congress 26 and CPI-ML 3.
The speaker’s effort to decide the fate of the confidence motion through voice vote failed twice following shouting from both the treasury and the opposition benches.
Senior RJD MLA Abdul Bari Siddiqui demanded secret voting but was rejected by the speaker.
At the end of the confidence vote, the speaker announced its adjournment for an indefinite period.
The Bihar Assembly held a one-day special session today for taking up the trust vote by the JD(U) and NDA coalition government.
Speeches of senior leaders of various parties on the confidence motion moved by the chief minister were frequently disrupted by members of rival parties.
RJD leader Tejashwi Prasad Yadav, former deputy chief minister and the son of Lalu Prasad Yadav, started the discussion on confidence motion. The Congress fielded its legislature party leader Sadanand Singh.
Modi spoke on behalf of the BJP while the chief minister spoke last.
Kumar, 66, was sworn in yesterday, returning to the National Democratic Alliance after four years. The day earlier, he had resigned as chief minister, breaking ranks with his allies-Lalu Yadav’s RJD party and the Congress.
The State Scores Extra High on Gaming-Friendly Industry Index
Meghalaya scored 92.85 out of 100 possible points in a Gaming Industry Index and proved to be India’s most gaming-friendly state following its recent profound legislation changes over the field allowing land-based and online gaming, including games of chance, under a licensing regime.
The index by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) uses a scale of 0 to 100 to measure the level of legalisation on gambling and betting achieved by a state based on the scores over a set of seven different games – lottery, horse racing, betting on sports, poker, rummy, casino and fantasy sports
Starting from February last year, Meghalaya became the third state in India’s northeast to legalise gambling and betting after Sikkim and Nagaland. After consultations with the UKIBC, the state proceeded with the adoption of the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Act, 2021 and the nullification of the Meghalaya Prevention of Gambling Act, 1970. Subsequently in December, the Meghalaya Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021 were notified and came into force.
All for the Tourists
The move to legalise and license various forms of offline and online betting and gambling in Meghalaya is aimed at boosting tourism and creating jobs, and altogether raising taxation revenues for the northeastern state. At the same time, the opportunities to bet and gamble legally will be reserved only for tourists and visitors.
“We came out with a Gaming Act and subsequently framed the Regulation of Gaming Rules, 2021. The government will accordingly issue licenses to operate games of skill and chance, both online and offline,” said James P. K. Sangma, Meghalaya State Law and Taxation Minister speaking in the capital city of Shillong. “But the legalized gambling and gaming will only be for tourists and not residents of Meghalaya,” he continued.
To be allowed to play, tourists and people visiting the state for work or business purposes will have to prove their non-resident status by presenting appropriate documents, in a process similar to a bank KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure.
Meghalaya Reaches Out to a Vast Market
With 140 millions of people in India estimated to bet regularly on sports, and a total of 370 million desi bettors around prominent sporting events, as per data from one of the latest reports by Esse N Videri, Meghalaya is set to reach out and take a piece of a vast market.
Estimates on the financial value of India’s sports betting market, combined across all types of offline channels and online sports and cricket predictions and betting platforms, speak about amounts between $130 and $150 billion (roughly between ₹9.7 and ₹11.5 lakh crore).
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Delhi are shown to deliver the highest number of bettors and Meghalaya can count on substantial tourists flow from their betting circles. The sports betting communities of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana are also not to be underestimated.
Among the sports, cricket is most popular, registering 68 percent of the total bet count analyzed by Esse N Videri. Football takes second position with 11 percent of the bets, followed by betting on FIFA at 7 percent and on eCricket at 5 percent. The last position in the Top 5 of popular sports for betting in India is taken by tennis with 3 percent of the bet count.
Local Citizens will Still have Their Teer Betting
Meghalaya residents will still be permitted to participate in teer betting over arrow-shooting results. Teer is a traditional method of gambling, somewhat similar to a lottery draw, and held under the rules of the Meghalaya Regulation of the Game of Arrow Shooting and the Sale of Teer Tickets Act, 2018.
Teer includes bettors wagering on the number of arrows that reach the target which is placed about 50 meters away from a team of 20 archers positioned in a semicircle.
The archers shoot volleys of arrows at the target for ten minutes, and players place their bets choosing a number between 0 and 99 trying to guess the last two digits of the number of arrows that successfully pierce the target.
If, for example, the number of hits is 256, anyone who has bet on 56 wins an amount eight times bigger than their wager.
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