Feature
Sting operation snowballs; MPs demand probe, BJP meets Bengal governor
New Delhi/Kolkata:A sting operation allegedly showing several Trinamool Congress leaders accepting money in return for lobbying for a private firm snowballed into a major political row on Tuesday both within and outside parliament.
The issue figured prominently in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour.
Much to the chagrin of poll-bound West Bengal’s ruling Trinamool Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) urged Governor K.N. Tripathi for a CBI probe while the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) said any leader shown in the video footage should not be allowed to contest the assembly polls.
On the defensive, senior Trinamool leader Mukul Roy termed the video footage “manufactured”.
“It is a manufactured video. There is a political motive behind all these,” he told reporters.
His party colleague and Dum Dum MP Saugata Roy alleged in the Lok Sabha: “There is a political conspiracy against Trinamool by the three parties — BJP, Congress and CPI-M — as they all are going to lose the upcoming assembly elections.”
Pressing for its demand for Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s resignation as well as a CBI probe into the alleged bribery scandal, the BJP organised a protest march in Kolkata and submitted a memorandum to Governor Tripathi.
“Neither the chief minster nor the Trinamool government has any right to continue. We have placed our demand with the governor seeking his intervention in the matter,” BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya said in Kolkata after meeting the governor.
The sting operation, purported to have been done by a news portal, figured prominently in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour and members from the BJP, CPI-M and Congress unitedly demanded a house probe.
“We are ashamed that we have to sit along with some members who have been shown receiving money in return for lobbying,” said Mohammad Salim of the CPI-M.
He urged the Lok Sabha speaker to call for the CDs from the portal which conducted the sting and order a probe.
Salim was supported by Darjeeling member S.S. Ahluwalia of the BJP and Bengal Congress unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who represents Berhampore constituency.
The issue was also sought to be raised in the Rajya Sabha but Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien said it can be raised only after giving proper notice.
The Lok Sabha proceedings during Zero Hour were also marked by exchange of heated words between Trinamool members like Saugata Roy and Sultan Ahmed on one side and the likes of Salim (CPI-M) and other Left members and Chowdhury on the other.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said truth must prevail in the matter since it was related to the conduct of the elected MPs.
“The matter needs to be probed either by the government or by the Lok Sabha speaker to establish the truth. Truth must prevail in the case,” he said.
In West Bengal, Trinamool’s arch rival CPI-M stepped up its attack and demanded that the leaders shown in the footage be debarred from contesting the assembly elections.
“Some of the leaders shown in the video accepting bribes are contesting in the assembly polls. They should not be allowed to contest,” CPI-M leader Rabin Deb said on Monday.
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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