Feature
Kerala minister presents budget as Left MLAs go berserk
Thiruvananthapuram: Despite a pandemonium breaking out in the Kerala assembly on Friday with the opposition Left legislators going berserk, breaking the speaker’s chair and computer, the controversy-embroiled Finance Minister K.M. Mani presented the state budget with “a lot of pride”.
All the Left members as well as Mani stayed back in the assembly premises for the night on Thursday. On Friday morning, the atmosphere was tense as angry Left legislators prevented Mani from entering the house.
He had to be escorted into the house by the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) members and a huge battery of security staff so that he could read out the budget, the 13th he has presented during his political career.
“You all know the troubles I had to undergo to fulfil my constitutional obligation. With a lot of pride I presented my 13th budget and have proved that 13 is not an unlucky number,” Mani told reporters in the assembly complex.
Trouble was brewing since Thursday afternoon when all the Left legislators stayed back in the assembly for the night to ensure that Mani is not allowed to enter the assembly. They have been accusing him of taking a bribe of Rs.1 crore to reopen the liquor bars the state closed down, and have demanded his resignation.
When the house assembled for the day’s proceedings at 9 a.m. on Friday, members of the opposition damaged Speaker N. Sakthan’s chair and computer. Sakthan and Mani were unable to enter the floor of the assembly on their first attempt and had to retreat to their cabins.
Sakthan then gave his clearance to present the budget from his office which – the Left pointed out – is against the rules of the assembly.
And so members of the UDF came to Mani’s rescue and escorted him to this seat in the house. After reading a few sentences from his printed address, he tabled the budget amid high drama.
Left legislator V. Sivankutty – who was seen throwing away the electronic equipment from the speaker’s podium – and two women legislators were admitted to a hospital here after they were injured in a scuffle between security guards and the treasury bench legislators.
Outside the assembly complex, the Left and the youth wing of the BJP continued their protest since Thursday evening, pressing for Mani’s resignation. On Friday, police chased them away using lathis, grenades and water cannons.
CPI-M politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan said that their protest was a success.
Playing down the ruckus inside the house, Mani said he is not giving any importance to what happened on the floor of the house. However, he said he was sad that the Left opposition did not allow him to make his conventional visit to the church before his budget speech.
“Ahead of all the 12 budgets that I presented before, I used to go to the church here and pray and then come to the assembly. I am sad that this time it could not take place,” said Mani.
Leader of Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan said all the conventions of presenting the budget were not followed.
“The speaker was not on the dais. He has to be present on the floor and has to give the order to present the budget. Women legislators were attacked by the ruling front legislators….,” he told reporters.
A police vehicle was set ablaze near the assembly complex by the protesters.
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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