Feature
‘Cycle’ belongs to Netaji, his blessings with us: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday said that the Samajwadi Party’s election symbol ‘cycle’ belongs to “Netaji” (Mulayam Singh Yadav), and that his blessings are with his son.”The father-son relation exists as before and nothing can change that. Netaji is above all of us in the party. The responsibility to take Samajwadi Party forward rests now with the new generation,” he said while speaking at the Chunav Manch conclave organised by India TV here.”Samajwadi Party still belongs to him. The ‘cycle’ belongs to him. The relationship is intact, father-son relationship can never change. It was necessary to distance ourselves from people who wanted to harm the party,” he said of the infighting.
Asked whether his father Mulayam Singh will campaign for the alliance, he said: “His (Netaji) blessings are with us. Netaji will be the most happiest person if SP wins. I am sure, our party’s thumping victory will only increase his stature.”Akhilesh said he is confident of the Samajwadi Party-Congress alliance winning more than 300 seats in the assembly elections this time.”This alliance will prove beneficial to both parties. Our alliance is going to win more than 300 seats. All the opposition parties are now targeting our alliance for the last 2-3 days. They have now started fearing that the two young leaders (Akhilesh and Rahul) who have come together may form the government,” he said.
Asked whether he would like to be projected as Prime Ministerial candidate in 2019, Akhilesh replied: “I want to emphatically state here that I have no ambition to become Prime Minister. People who stay away from Delhi are happier. But yes, even Congressmen have asked me who will be the PM candidate in 2019, and I have told them, first let’s win this election, and then see which turn politics will take. Nobody can predict.”
Asked about his government’s achievements in the last five years, Akhilesh said that as many as 55 lakh women are getting Samajwadi Pension, 18 lakh laptops were distributed, MBBS seats doubled, helpline services like 108, 100, 109 have started, and “there are many more schemes like Kanya Vidya Dhan Yojana which have directly touched the poor”.
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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