Feature
Rahul says won’t allow ‘anti-farmer’ land bill
Jaipur: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday met farmers in Rajasthan and assured them that his party was firmly with them, and will not allow the BJP-led central government to go ahead with the “anti-farmer” land bill.
Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to Rajasthan, met the farmers in Hanumangarh district, over 400 km from state capital Jaipur.
“All our MPs, MLAs and party workers will raise your issues and fight for your causes. The Congress is the party for the poor, downtrodden and the farmers,” Gandhi said during a ‘padyatra’ (foot march) in the district.
“The Congress has always worked for the interests of the poor. We will not allow the BJP government at the centre to go ahead with the bill, which is anti-farmer,” he said, referring to the land acquisition bill.
“Remember whenever they (the BJP) try to create problems for you, the Congress will be standing with you,” he said.
Talking to party workers and supporters in Khotanwali in Hanumangarh district before his ‘padyatra’, Gandhi said the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given a lot of things to fight for.
“We cannot even dream of so many things. There is Vyapam scam, land acquisition, corruption to name a few,” he said.
Hitting out at Modi, Gandhi said: “Do you remember what Modi ji said one year back. ‘Na khaunga, na khane dunga’ (Won’t be corrupt, won’t allow corruption). It seems he has forgotten his promise.”
Gandhi said the BJP government operates at the behest of some corporate houses.
He said the central government has nothing to do with the people’s pain.
In Rajasthan, schools were being closed, many welfare schemes of the previous Congress government like free medicines were stopped, he said.
“We tried to help tribals, but they (BJP government) are not working on the plans and schemes launched by the previous Congress government for the tribals,” Gandhi added.
He said the main aim of his ‘padyatra’ was to understand the basic problems of the public and to raise these issues in parliament.
“Currently, the central and state governments are doing nothing in the interest of the public,” he said.
Gandhi is scheduled to visit Jaipur later.
During his 9-km ‘padyatra’, he interacted with villagers, farmers and local businessmen, and also had lunch at a farmer’s house.
He started his ‘padyatra’ from Khotanwali and visited villages like Surawali and Amarsingh Wala.
Party workers and supporters in hundreds holding flags accompanied Gandhi. His security personnel had a tough time controlling the supporters who were trying to shake hands with him.
State Congress president Sachin Pilot, former chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Leader of Opposition in the assembly Rameshwar Dudi, were among the leaders who accompanied Gandhi in the padyatra.
On Friday, Gandhi will address the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee Convention in Jaipur. He will later interact with civil society members and intellectuals.
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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