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Centre says LG has last word in postings, Kejriwal attacks Modi
New Delhi: As the central government made it clear on Friday that lt.governor will have the last word in posting and transferring of bureaucrats in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “trying to run” the state through the backdoor, back-stabbing people of Delhi and seeking to protect the corrupt.
In a hurriedly-convened press conference following the home ministry’s decree on the lt. governor’s powers, Kejriwal likened Modi to “London” and Lt.Governor Najeeb Jung to “viceroy.”
The home ministry notification came after days of intense wrangling between the Aam Aadmi Party government and Jung over transfer and posting of senior officials.
The notification, issued on Thursday and made public on Friday, states that the Delhi government “will have no executive power” with regard to “services” — a reference to Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers and some others.
It also takes away the power of the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB), which is under the Delhi government, to prosecute “officers, employees and functionaries” of the central government. Recently, the ACB had filed a case against a Delhi policeman for taking a bribe. This had led to a retaliation by the police which filed an FIR against unnamed officials for “kidnapping” the policemen.
The notification said that the “Lt. governor of National Capital Territory of Delhi shall in respect of matters connected with ‘public order’, ‘police’, ‘land’ and ‘services’… exercise the power and discharge functions of the central government.”
Kejriwal came hard down on the order and said it showed the nervousness of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the centre over the efforts of his government against corruption.
He alleged that Jung was just the face and the orders to him are coming from the Prime Minister’s Office. “Pre-independence, Queen of England used to send notifications to the viceroy here. Now, Jung sahab is the viceroy and the PMO is London,” he said.
Kejriwal said his government was taking views of constitutional experts on the notification and a decision will be taken soon.
Accompanied by his deputy Manish Sisodia, the chief minister alleged that money was changing hands for transfers earlier but has ended under the AAP government.
He also alleged that people from the Congress and the BJP failed to get contracts in Delhi and went to the PMO.
“BJP and the Congress want to have their own officers in Delhi and get government contracts for their own people. They want control over the transfer-posting industry,” Kejriwal said, adding that the central government has back-stabbed the city’s people.
He said Modi government was trying to run Delhi with three BJP MLAs through backdoor.
Referring to mention of the ACB in the notification, he asked who were the people Modi government was “trying to protect”.
Noting that his government has brought corruption down in its last three months and 36 officials have been arrested, Kejriwal said: “Now, the centre wants that if the ACB sees any sort of corruption by its central government employees, it should overlook it.”
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley however said that the “clarificatory notification” was to resolve disputes about powers of the elected government and the lt. governor.
“The home ministry circular (has been issued) so that no dispute remains. The reserved powers of the central government are exercised through the lt. governor. The clarificatory notification is about it so that there is no confusion.
“We do not want that offices are locked due to confusion,” Jaitley said, referring to the AAP government ordering locking of the office of a senior officer apparently for following orders of Jung for appointing Shakuntala Gamlin as acting chief secretary.
Gamlin’s appointment had turned into a major flash point in the confrontation between the ruling AAP and Jung with Kejriwal questioning the lt.governor’s authority.
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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