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No difference between the UPA and NDA governments, says Hazare

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Ralegan-Siddhi (Maharashtra): Anti-corruption crusader and social activist Anna Hazare today stated that there is “no difference between the UPA and NDA governments” and targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi by saying that he has “forgotten” election promises.

In a three-pager addressed to Modi, Hazare has said that it is imperative to implement the Lok Pal and Lokayukta to “control corruption to an extent” and give a fair price to agriculture produce to stop farmers’ suicides in the country.

The 79-year-old pointed out how before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Modi promised that if the Bharatiya Janata Party was voted to power, he would strive to make the country “corruption-free”.

“However, even now corruption has not decreased, no work can be done without paying bribes… Even inflation has not been curbed. In the matter of corruption, there is no difference between the UPA and NDA governments,” Hazare wrote.

He reminded Modi that when he first stepped inside parliament, he vowed to maintain its sanctity like a temple: “But parliament sessions are lost in fights-arguments… crores of rupees of public money is being wasted.”

Touching upon a sensitive issue, Hazare recalled how Modi promised to get back the black money stashed abroad “within 100 days” and each Indian would get Rs.15 lakh in his bank account. “But that has not happened till now, forget Rs.15 lakh, people have not got even Rs.15.”

“You are neither speaking about the Lok Pal and Lokayukta laws nor implementing them. We had hopes that you would address them in your ‘Mann Ki Baat’ (PM’s monthly radio address to the nation), especially since you had assured that you would tackle corruption,” Hazare said.

On the agriculture front, he said the government promised 1.5 times returns to the farming community, but since that remains unimplemented, farmers suicides continue to plague farmlands across India.

Hazare added that in the past, former prime ministers like P.V. Narasimha Rao used to call and speak with him occasionally, even A.B. Vajpayee would enquire about him whenever he travelled to Maharashtra, while Manmohan Singh – whom he had targeted – also used to reply to his letters.

“Perhaps you get angry by my letters and they end up in the dustbin… I am just an ordinary citizen who is powerless against the government, at best I can launch an agitation…,” Hazare said, from his village in Ahmedbagar district of the state.

Entertainment

Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

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PureWin Online Betting

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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