Feature
Mass resignations from RSS in Goa over Velingkar’s sacking
Panaji: In a late development on Wednesday, over 400 RSS volunteers, including district, sub district and shakha heads announced their resignation from the Hindu organisation, in protest against the unceremonious sacking of state RSS chief Subhash Velingkar earlier in the day.
The mass resignations following a marathon six-hour meeting held at a school complex near Panaji, in which over 100 local RSS members and office bearers accused Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and BJP top brass, including Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar of conspiring to sack Velingkar, one of the most influential RSS leaders in the state.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting which was also attended by the office bearers of the Sangh’s Konkan region, Ramdas Saraf, south district pramukh of the RSS said: “All office bearers from the district units, sub district units and shakhas ing with hundreds of others have decided quit from the RSS, until Velingkar Sir is reinstated”.
“We will not work for RSS until the decision to strip him as Goa Vibhag Sangh Chalak is revoked,” Saraf said.
Velingkar, who also heads a regional language front Bharatiya Bhasha Suraksha Manch (BBSM), has been critical of the state government’s medium of instruction policy in primary schools, which he claims promotes English language over regional languages like Konkani and Marathi.
In the recent past, Velingkar had also accused successive BJP-led coalition governments in Goa under Manohar Parrikar and Laxmikant Parsekar of “cheating” people on the issue of medium of instruction.
On Monday, Velingkar had also warned, that the BJP may lose the upcoming assembly elections, because of this reason and had participated in a protest, which showed black flags to BJP President Amit Shah during his visit to the state on August 20.
As BBSM convenor, Velingkar has also threatened to mentor another political party, with the specific purpose to defeat the BJP in the upcoming elections, because of the latter’s lack of support to regional languages.
Veteran state RSS leader Jayant Lele, who was also present at the meeting, said at the BJP should stop dictating terms to the RSS in Goa and that such attempts will not be tolerated.
“RSS is a parent body. Goa BJP cannot dictate terms to the RSS,” even as RSS volunteers cried ‘Shame, Shame’ in the background.
At the meeting earlier, a large number of senior RSS members criticised the state BJP-led coalition government, as well as Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and former state organising secretary of the BJP Satish Dhond, for allegedly betraying the principles of the RSS on the altar of power.
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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