Feature
BSP supremo Mayawati selects brother’s son Akash Anand as successor
Lucknow: Unfazed by media speculation about the emergence of a political heir in the BSP, Mayawati hit back at the critics and announced the induction of her nephew Akash Anand, an MBA graduate, into the party.
Accusing some of the media houses of being casteist and anti-Dalit, BSP chief Mayawati on Thursday broke her silence saying that she was appointing her nephew Akash Anand in the party to make him learn about the party.
Media speculation started after Akash, son of Mayawati’s younger brother, Anand Kumar, was seen prominently receiving visitors at her residence on Tuesday when she celebrated her 63rd birthday and on the day she announced a political alliance with the Samajwadi Party for the Lok Sabha elections on Saturday. Questions were raised whether he was the heir apparent for Mayawati, a spinster.
Mayawati addressed a press conference on Thursday and attacked her political rivals and the media accusing them of being “casteist and anti-Dalit”.
“Rise in the popularity of BSP and its alliance with SP is giving sleepless nights among parties and leaders who are anti-Dalit and casteist. Instead of fighting us in a fair manner they are making absurd remarks against us and conspiring with some casteist and anti-Dalit media houses.”
“As my nephew Akash Anand was targeted by political rivals after he was seen with me in Lucknow on my birthday, the casteist and anti-Dalit minds in the political area are indulging in cheap politics,” she said announcing the induction of Akash, a MBA from London, into the party.
Mayawati inducts younger brother Anand Kumar’s son Akash in BSP as successor:
Mayawati said that she was a disciple of Kanshi Ramji and “all of you have seen how he had given a tit-for-tat answer in the earlier days”.
“And thus being a disciple of Kanshi Ramji, to give a ‘tit for tat’ answer, I will make Akash (Anand) join BSP movement and make him learn. If some casteist and anti-Dalit sections of media have a problem with that so be it. Our party does not care about it,” she said.
Recalling the role of her brother, Anand Kumar, in the BSP movement, Mayawati said that he had worked a lot for the party.
“And after discussion with the party leaders, I had made him the party’s Vice President. But he himself offered to step down from the post to ensure that there were no accusations of dynastic politics in the party,” Maywati said, adding that he had never asked for any designation in the party.
And after stepping down from the party’s post my brother and his family worked more for the party, she said.
She also recalled that Kumar and his family have been struggling since 2003 to support her. “He has been selflessly supporting the party,” Mayawati added.
Photo of BSP supremo in Center aoong with Samajwadi President Akhilesh Yadav
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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