Feature
Shivpal gets back portfolios, Samajwadi bitterness remains
Lucknow:Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Friday restored the portfolios he snatched from his uncle and party leader Shivpal Yadav after days of bitter power struggle in the party.
After party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav played the peacemaker, Akhilesh Yadav also took back Mining Minister Gayatri Prajapati, a Shivpal protege whom he had earlier sacked, sparking the crisis in the Samajwadi Party.
The Chief Minister’s Office tweeted that all the departments like Public Works Department, Irrigation, Cooperatives and Revenue were once again back with Shivpal Yadav, younger brother of Mulayam Singh.
Mulayam Singh had already announced the decisions at a meeting of party workers, hundreds of who massed outside Shivpal Yadav’s residence earlier in the day shouting slogans against the Chief Minister.
Mulayam Singh finally mediated in the war of supremacy within the party and asked Akhilesh Yadav to roll back his decisions against Shivpal Yadav and Prajapati, party sources said.
Shivpal Yadav also remains the state party chief. It was Mulayam Singh’s decision on Tuesday to give him this post after taking it from Akhilesh Yadav that brought about the worst-ever crisis in the Samajwadi Party out in the open.
While the curtains seem to have come down on the four-day-old drama that shook the Samajwadi Party ahead of critical assembly polls next year, many felt that the coldness between the “chacha-bhatija” had not abated.
“The patch up is superficial. The two are set to clash again as Shivpal has won this round though the Chief Minister was adamant on not retreating from his decisions,” a senior party leader said.
A visibly satisfied Shivpal Yadav remarked that Akhilesh Yadav still had a lot to learn in politics.
“I have a longer experience with Netaji (Mulayam Singh Yadav), I have been with Netaji since the age of 15. Everybody can’t be the same. Everybody can’t become Akhilesh or Netaji or for that matter, Shivpal,” Shivpal said at the India TV Conclave here.
He took exception to Akhilesh Yadav’s assertion that the “role of outsiders won’t be tolerated” and alleged many ministers in the cabinet of Akhilesh Yadav do not do any work.
Shivpal Yadav said his resignation as the state party chief had been rejected by Mulayam Singh. “Where is the feud any more?” he asked.
Asked why Akhilesh Yadav took away his portfolios if he thought his performance was good, Shivpal Yadav said: “Everybody accepts that I have performed better.”
Mulayam Singh earlier told party activists that the Samajwadi Party would remain united as long as he was around.
Akhilesh Yadav earlier told India TV: “I am ready to return party posts and even portfolios but I must have the power to distribute tickets because the forthcoming poll is after all a test for me and my party.”
Many in the Samajwadi Party appeared to feel that Akhilesh Yadav had been forced to backtrack vis-a-vis Shivpal Yadav by Mulayam Singh.
Earlier, Shivpal Yadav supporters accused Akhilesh Yadav of humiliating Shivpal Yadav and insisted that the Chief Minister should apologize to his uncle by touching his feet.
More than two dozen Samajwadi Party legislators and Uttar Pradesh assembly Speaker Mata Prasad Pandey met Shivpal Yadav.
Some Shivpal supporters also demanded action against party General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav, who on Thursday termed Rajya Sabha member Amar Singh as the villain in the entire sordid episode.
Akhilesh said: “It is my responsibility as a son to accept Netaji’s decision. I accept Netaji’s decision to bring Gayatri Prajapati back into cabinet.
“It is election time. We should all come together and work. There is no fight between Ramgopal Yadav, Akhilesh and Shivpal.”
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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