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FIR registered against BJP’s spokesperson Sambit Patra for violating rules
Bhopal: The Election Commission of India today filed and First Information Report (FIR) against Bhartiya Janata Party controversial spokesperson Sambit Patra violation of model code of conduct during Madhya Pradesh elections.
The Congress has recently formed the government in Madhya Pradesh after defeating the BJP and ending its 15 years of government. Last month, the controversial BJP spokesperson had found his name included in the FIR filed by the Election Commission for poll code violation.
Madhya Pradesh: Bailable warrant issued against BJP leader and spokesperson Sambit Patra by CJM Court in a model of code of conduct violation case in Bhopal (file pic) pic.twitter.com/uYfKiE4B9o— ANI (@ANI) December 28, 2018
Madhya Pradesh CEO VL Kantha Rao had told news agency that Patra had been named as an accused in the FIR.
Patra had allegedly violated the poll code by holding a press conference in front of a commercial building in MP Nagar area of Bhopal, where he slammed Congress President Rahul Gandhi on the National Herald case.
Arrest warrant issued against controversial BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra:
The opposition Congress had wasted no time in approaching the poll body to claim that Patra’s presser was organised without requisite permissions and that too on public property (road).
Patra has become synonymous to antics and shenanigans in the recent time as his comments have frequently courted controversy. In a veiled jibe at Patra, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, according to news agency ANI, had recently said, “There’s a spokesperson who has responsibility to speak for party officially, but there are a few ppl in party(BJP) who when they speak to media, stir controversy. One shouldn’t speak such things that lead to controversy; it adversely affects party’s image.”
The BJP lost all three states, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, to the Congress in the recently concluded assembly elections.
There were also reports that the BJP had removed Patra from its list of spokespersons to avoid further embarrassment ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. However, the party had later clarified that there was no truth in these reports.
Patra has continued to make TV appearances in the last few days. His aggressive tone has, however, given way to more dignified response these days.
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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