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‘Parrikar’s funeral paramount over coalition talks’ says BJP

Published

5 years ago

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Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar’s final rites were more important than a government formation, the coastal state’s BJP unit said on Monday, even as ongoing negotiations between allies and BJP leaders, including Nitin Gadkari and the party’s National Secretary B.L. Santosh, have appeared to hit a roadblock.

Emerging from a night-long meeting with Gadkari, Santosh other state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, Goa Forward MLA Vijai Sardesai said the discussions were inconclusive, even as party MLA Michael Lobo claimed that former PWD Minister and Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) leader Sudin Dhavalikar has laid claim to post of Chief Minister.

After the first round of talks failed early Monday morning, state BJP president Vinay Tendulkar said Parrikar’s last rites would be handled before any government formation process is discussed again.
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“We will first have to pay a visit to his mortal remains. Then his body will be taken to the party office and after that a decision will be taken,” Tendulkar told the media after the meeting which was held at a city resort.

Lobo echoed Tendulkar’s statement, saying: “Today (Monday) Manohar ji’s final rites and other things have to be done. That is the first priority. Solution will come tomorrow.”

The BJP MLA also said that during the meeting with Gadkari and Santosh, Dhavalikar had put forth a proposal to make him the Chief Minister of the coalition government.

“Dhavalikar wants to become Chief Minister. He has put his demand. That is being worked out. Dhavalikar said that he had sacrificed many times by supporting the BJP. But the BJP will not agree his demand.”

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Lobo that the BJP has shortlisted Vishwajit Rane and Pramod Sawant for the post of Chief Minister.

In his brief interaction with the media, Dhavalikar did not confirm about his pitch for Chief Ministership, but said that he would meet BJP leaders again soon following discussions with the state executive committee of his regional party.

“Nothing has been decided yet… Whatever decision the MGP takes, we will have to take a resolution of the executive committee and give it to them,” Dhavalikar said.

President of the Goa Forward party Vijai Sardesai said that several issues were discussed during the meeting, but there was no uniform agreement on every aspect.

“Basically how the government should function, who should be delegated what responsibilities and how we could go forward. We have told them. They have agreed on certain things, they said they will get back on certain things,” Sardesai told the media here.

Goa has descended into a political crisis, following Parrikar’s death on Sunday evening due to advanced pancreatic cancer. His final rites will be conducted on Monday evening.

The MGP, Goa Forward and four independent MLAs were a part of the BJP-lead coalition government from 2017, which was headed by Parrikar.

Meanwhile, state Congress President Girish Chodankar said the party was working on a strategy to come to power and that several non-Congress legislators were in touch with him.

“We have some strategies in place and we are hopeful that the Governor calls us soon (invitation to stake claim) because we have the number that is required. We are in touch with many MLAs,” Chodankar told the media here.

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Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

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2 years ago

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June 25, 2022

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PureWin Online Betting

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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