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Kumaraswamy sets to become Karnataka CM for 2nd time on May 23rd
Bengaluru: With the fall of BJP’s three-day-old government in Karnataka, H D Kumaraswamy heading the Congress-JDS coalition is set to become the chief minister for a second time on May 23.
Governor Vajubhai Vala today invited Kumaraswamy, the leader of Congress-JD(S) joint legislature party, to form the government.
“On the invitation of the Governor I have met him on the basis of the request we had submitted on May 15 for the formation of Congress-JD(S) coalition government….he has invited us to form the government,” Kumaraswamy, also state JD(S) chief, said.
Talking to reporters after meeting Vala, he said the Governor has directed him to prove the majority on the floor of the House in 15 days but he would do it much before.
After meeting the governor, Kumaraswamy had said the swearing-in ceremony would take place tentatively between 12 and 1.50 pm at Kanteerava stadium on May 21.
However, Kumaraswamy later in the evening said the swearing-in would be held on May 23 as May 21 happens to be the death anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, and therefore it would not be appropriate to hold the ceremony on that date.
Rajiv Gandhi was killed in a suicide bombing in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, in 1991.
After a meeting with Congress leaders, Kumaraswamy said they also discussed about moving the confidence of motion on May 24.
He said he would meet Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on May 21 to extend his gratitude to them. “I will also discuss how many Congress and JD(S) MLAs will become ministers,” said Kumaraswamy.
On May 23rd Kumaraswamy sets to become Karnataka CM for 2nd time:
He said a coordination committee would be formed to prepare a common minimum programme to implement the promises made by the two coalition partners.
Kumaraswamy said there were no other discussions with the coalition partners other than winning the confidence vote.
His meeting with the Governor came hours after B S Yeddyurappa stepped down as Chief Minister without facing the floor test in the assembly as the BJP fell short of numbers.
The post-election stitched alliance of JD(S) and Congress, which claims the support of 117 members, has already staked its claim to form the government and said it would be headed by Kumaraswamy.
The third son of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda had earlier headed the BJP-JD(S) coalition government for twenty months from January 2006.
Kumaraswamy said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, BSP chief Mayawati, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao and several other regional leaders would be invited for the swearing-in ceremony.
Asked by when he will prove majority, Kumaraswamy said, “As soon as possible we will call the assembly session to prove majority… though Governor has given 15 days, we will not require that much time.”
Expressing apprehension that the BJP would again indulge in “operation Kamala (poaching on MLAs)”, he said: “I’m aware of it that they will create problem. JD(S) and Congress leaders will take all precautionary measures for it.”
He also ruled out any kind of differences among the party cadres on alliance with 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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