Feature
Will not allow PM to take farmers’ land: Rahul Gandhi
Anantapur (Andhra Pradesh): Targeting the NDA government over the land bill, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Friday said he would not allow Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take farmers’ land easily.
Addressing a public meeting in Obuladevara Cheruvu village as part of his ‘padyatra’ to highlight the problems faced by farmers, he assured the farming community that Congress will stand by them.
“The PM of India is under the impression that he can take away the lands of the farmers but we will not let him take farmers’ land easily,” said Gandhi.
“We have not even shown 10 percent of the strength of farmers of India. And the PM suddenly understood that he cannot push the farmers of this country,” he said in an obvious reference to the government’s proposal to amend the land bill to break the impasse in parliament.
He said the Congress took a stand in parliament that it will not let the government take away the land of farmers that easily. “The Congress and the farmers of this country decided to show a little bit of their power to the prime minister. He changed his mind after the fight of farmers, which was fought by the Congress,” he added.
On his first visit to Andhra Pradesh after the bifurcation of the state, Gandhi also hit out at Modi over special status to the state.
“The PM wanted to take away land of farmers and also the special status and Polavaram away from people of this state,” he said while alleging that the NDA government is going back on the commitment to accord special status to the state.
Gandhi, whose visit is seen as an effort to strengthen the party’s base in the state after it drew a blank in last year’s assembly and Lok Sabha elections, told the rally that the Congress is fully committed to special status and Polavaram project.
He also targeted Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and main opposition YSR Congress Party for not fighting for special status for the state.
“I can fully understand the intention of the prime minister. But, what I do not understand is the intention of the chief minister of this state and other party. I do not understand why these parties do not fight for special status and for Polavaram,” he said.
Accompanied by Congress state unit president Raghuveera Reddy, other leaders and a large number of party workers and supporters, Gandhi undertook a 10-km padyatra in the drought-prone district.
He kicked off his padyatra from Obuladevara Cheruvu village, where his grandmother and former prime minister Indira Gandhi had addressed a meeting in 1979.
He interacted with farmers, agricultural labourers, artisans and women’s self-help groups and enquired about their problems.
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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