Feature
Tejashwi after meeting Akhilesh Yadav indicates may not dump Congress
Lucknow: RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Monday indicated that his party may not dump the Congress in Bihar for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections even as he expressed confidence that the SP-BSP alliance in Uttar Pradesh will wipe out the BJP and stop the saffron party from returning to power in Delhi.
Addressing a press conference jointly with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, he said that after the alliances in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, if a tie-up happens in Jharkhand among anti-BJP parties, then the wipe-out of the BJP was certain from the three states where the BJP won 110-115 of the 134 seats in 2014.
Asked what would be his party’s stand regarding the Congress in Bihar in the wake of Samajwadi Party (SP)-Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) combine dumping it in Uttar Pradesh, Tejashwi Yadav said: “The Congress has been with us from early on.”
Tejashwi Yadav referred to the Gorakhpur and Phulpur Lok Sabha by-polls in March 2018 where the SP and BSP, arch rivals for a quarter century, joined hands to defeat the BJP.
“The by-elections has already proved the success of the alliance. Even without the Congress, SP and BSP alone displayed their power. The motive is to defeat the BJP. Whether the Congress is there or not, the BJP will be defeated,” he asserted.
Tejashwi Yadav, however, was quick to reiterate Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s assertion that the motive of the opposition parties was to oust the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“The SP-BSP alliance is historic and it will show the way not just in UP or Bihar but will also decide who comes to power in Delhi,” said the Rashtriya Janata Dal leader who is here to meet Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati.
Tejashwi hints after meeting Akhilesh Yadav may not dump Congress for 2019:
Claiming there was a “state of emergency” under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Tejashwi Yadav said the coming together of parties like the SP and BSP was essential to save the country from the BJP-RSS ideology which he added was being imposed on the country.
He flayed Prime Minister Modi for denying special status to Bihar despite repeatedly promising it and said central agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) were functioning like “allies of BJP”.
Speaking on the occasion, Akhilesh Yadav too flayed the Modi government for only making hollow promises.
“Depsite our repeated demands for a bullet train connecting Delhi with Kolkata via UP, Bihar and Jharkhand, Modi shamelessly gave the bullet train to his home state connecting Mumbai,” said Akhilesh Yadav.
He said the entire country was unhappy with the BJP.
Asked if Mayawati or he himself could be the probable Prime Ministerial face, Akhilesh Yadav remained cryptic saying: “Uttar Pradesh has given many a Prime Ministers”.
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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