Feature
BJP’s public love for former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has plenty of critics.See here
The BJP’s high-profile immersion of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s ashes in rivers has not impressed everyone in Uttar Pradesh. While many feel that the “tamasha” would not have earned the approval of the late leader himself, a small section in the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) feels that the event was commensurate with the stature of Vajpayee, who died on August 16.
More than half of the state government was on duty for the “asthi kalash visarjan” on August 23.
There were thousands of posters, banners and hoardings with Vajpayee’s pictures and couplets dotting the landscape of Lucknow, which he represented in the Lok Sabha five times.
Many here feel that the saffron camp was going overboard.
“It is strange, even bizarre,” said an elderly chemist, a self-confessed Vajpayee fan near the Burlington Square when he saw the heavily-guarded cavalcade pass through.
Pointing out how Vajpayee was almost a forgotten “marg darshak” (mentor) of the BJP since he faded away from public life after a paralytic stroke, Amitosh Misra said it was evident that the party planned to gain votes from the display of mass affection.
Bal Krishna Chowrasia, a pan seller at Qaiserbagh, couldn’t agree less. He blamed the ruling party for not only forgetting Vajpayee but also consigning his legacy to the bin — until he died.
“Ye sab natak hai (It is all drama),” he said.
At Jhulelal Park, on the banks of Gomti, a middle-aged rickshaw puller threw rose petals at the urn procession but was amused at the sudden attention the late leader was getting.
A resident of Hardoi, he said: “People say the dead man was better than the present dispensation (Modi).”
A retired bureaucrat who served the Uttar Pradesh government when Vajpayee was the Prime Minister, told that he was both shocked and dismayed at the way the late leader’s remains were paraded.
“It is okay if the BJP wants to mourn its leader and remember him the way they want. But look at how they have painted every corner of the city… We can see the lure of votes.”
“Now they are suddenly remembering Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Until now he was in the dustbin,” said Sachhidanand Gupta, a Lucknow resident.
Kishan Chait, a resident of Mainpuri, also slammed the BJP for turning a sombre affair into another event. A lawyer by profession, he wants the BJP to stop its “event management type of politics”.
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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