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When Rahul Gandhi says ‘I Love Narendra Modi’ his comment greeted with cheers, applause
Pune: Congress President Rahul Gandhi virtually brought the house down on Friday when he said: “I love Narendra Modi.”
In a free-wheeling live interaction with over 5,000 college students at the Lakshmi Lawns in Hadapsar suburb here, Gandhi took wide-ranging questions from the gathering, largely pertaining to jobs, education, healthcare and some even personal.
Answering a poser from a student, he paused and said: “I love (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi. I really do, seriously. I have no anger against him. I love him. But he has anger towards me.”
The comment was greeted with thunderous cheers and applause from the students, stunned even the hosts and the media, coming as it at the height of the Lok Sabha election season when both the ruling and opposition sides are firing poisonous darts at each other.
To another question on his favourite childhood memories, Gandhi thought for a moment and said: “It was with my grandmother (late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi). Before she would come home from work, I would hide behind the curtains, and when she arrived, I would jump out and scare her. I know (now) that she was not scared, but she always pretended to be scared.”
Responding to a query about his relations with sister Priyanka Gandhi, he said: “We are very close, she is my best friend since childhood.
“From early childhood, we have witnessed lot of violence. First my grandmother was killed, then my father (Rajiv Gandhi) was killed. All though, she supported me,” Gandhi said amid pin drop silence.
Now, even after she has joined politics, the old sibling bonds remain strong, and Rahul Gandhi said he never removes the Rakhi she ties on him every year and it probably lasts till the next year.
Crowd thunderously cheers, applause on Rahul Gandhi when he said ‘I Love Narendra Modi’:
“In the past there were fights, but not anymore. We may quarrel, argue, but before it gets into a fight, one of us steps back and ends it.”
On a question about how the modern day youth seem addicted to the social media and living in virtual reality, the Congress President said: “If people choose to live in virtual reality, let them do it.
“However, some day they will have to face the actual reality of life. Social Media (Twitter) will not take care of your parents. You will have to face the harsh realities then.”
To a student’s question on who deserves credit for the recent Indian Air Force strikes, Gandhi responded firmly: “The IAF deserves all credit for it…”
He added that he has never claimed credit for such things in any of his speeches, but was totally against “politicising the IAF air strikes”, as was being done by Modi.
Organised by Congress MLA Vishwajeet Kadam, the interaction – lasting around 75 minutes – was conducted in an informal manner with the two hosts – famed Mumbai-based RJ Malishka Mendonsa and Pune-based acclaimed Marathi film actor Subodh Bhave.
Responding to Bhave’s plans to make a biopic on him, to be directed and filmed by him, for which he was on the lookout for a hero to play the title role, Gandhi playfully preempted him: “I am wedded to my work.” The crowds cheered their approval.
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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