Feature
Pravin Togadia joins mainstream politics to contest 2019 Lok Sabha elections
Ayodhya: Former VHP leader Pravin Togadia said on Tuesday he was “jumping into mainstream politics” and would soon announce the name of his new party that would contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Addressing his supporters and votaries of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya, the firebrand leader of the pro-Hindutva Antarrashtriya Hindu Parishad charged the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with betraying the people on the temple issue. Togadia had formed the Parishad soon after being expelled from the VHP.
“The people who swore in the name of Ram temple have managed to make a Rs 500-crore office for themselves in New Delhi, while Lord Ram continues to live under the open sky, in a tent,” he said here in Uttar Pradesh.
The former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader said the time has come for him to field candidates in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls to defeat the “anti-Hindu forces”.
“We will contest the 2019 general elections and our entire focus would be to reclaim Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura” and change their landscape forever, he added.
Firebrand leader Pravin Togadia ropes in mainstream politics to fight 2019 LS polls:
He also demanded that a law be promulgated for controling the country’s population. Once his party garners the numbers, Togadia said he would demand that the minority status given to Muslims be scrapped.
Addressing the ‘sankalp rally’ on the banks of the river Saryu here in violation of prohibitory orders, Togadia also said that he would announce the name of his political party in New Delhi soon.
Exhorting the Hindus to join ranks with him, he asked people to trash the BJP as it had deceived them on the Ram temple promise.
“Like me, thousands have been betrayed by the BJP over the issue of construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya and we will punish the BJP in the 2019 general elections,” he said.
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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