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Congress-BJP war rages over Raje
New Delhi/Jaipur: Stepping up the demand for Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s resignation, the Congress on Monday alleged that she had “direct financial dealings” with former IPL chief Lalit Modi. The BJP vehemently refuted the charge as “baseless”.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, who has been at the forefront of making serious allegations against Raje, claimed that the chief minister had helped convert a state-owned palace in Dholpur, about 260 km from Jaipur, into private property.
He alleged that Niyant Heritage Pvt. Ltd., a company owned by Raje, her son Dushyant Singh, daughter-in-law Niharika Singh and Lalit Modi had taken over a Rajasthan government property, converted it into a private high-end luxury hotel and invested over Rs.100 crore.
“A joint venture company is running Niyant Heritage which is running Dholpur palace,” he said.
Ramesh showed Rajasthan government documents to claim that Dholpur palace — built in the late 19th century and which has eight royal palace rooms and 18 luxury villas — was never a private property of the erstwhile Dholpur royal family.
In Jaipur, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rajasthan unit rubbished the allegations, saying that the palace’s ownership was very much with Dushyant Singh.
“All the allegations are baseless. We have papers to prove that the Dholpur palace belongs to Dushyant Singh. There is no illegal occupation on the palace. Moreover, everyone knows that Vasundhara Raje ji is known as the Maharani (queen) of Dholpur city,” BJP state president Ashok Parnami said.
“Even the records with the municipality show that the palace belongs to Dushyant Singh,” he added.
Parnami challenged Jairam Ramesh to a debate on the issue. “Either he should prove the charges or quit politics.”
Parnami accused the Congress of running a smear campaign to tarnish Raje’s image. “The party, which has a history of corruption, is levelling allegations against us.”
Ramesh earlier asserted that he had conclusive proof that the Dholpur palace belonged to the government.
“We sadly have to state that Vasundhara Raje’s husband in 1980 made a statement saying Dholpur palace belongs to the government,” Ramesh said.
He accused Raje and Lalit Modi of converting government property into personal assets. “Even Vasundhara Raje herself had admitted that the Dholpur property was owned by the government of Rajasthan.
“First, she (Raje) and fugitive Lalit Modi are business partners. Second, Lalit Modi got Rs.21 crore from Mauritius and invested (it) in Dushyant Singh’s company. Third, Raje signed a seven-page document for UK authorities to help him (Lalit Modi),” Ramesh said.
The Congress leader also took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, describing him as “Swami Maunendra Baba” for his continued silence over the Lalit Modi issue.
The Congress also wants External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj to quit for helping Lalit Modi — who faces charges of financial impropriety — get travel documents.
Meanwhile, Aam Aadmi Party activists staged protests in the national capital demanding the sacking of Raje, Sushma Swaraj, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani and Maharashtra minister Pankaja Munde of the BJP.
A court here has taken cognizance of a complaint challenging the educational qualification of Smriti Irani, while Pankaja Munde has been accused of corruption in Maharashtra.
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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