Feature
Kejriwal a dream merchant, still in opposition mode: Ajay Maken
New Delhi : Congress leader Ajay Maken has said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is a “dream merchant” who is still in “opposition mode” and that the AAP government has failed to meet expectations of the people in several areas, including infrastructure, health and education.
In an interview to IANS, Ajay Maken, 53, who is Delhi Congress chief, said that the Congress was on a revival path in the city and would perform well in the municipal polls later this year.
Maken said Kejriwal shoots questions at others but rarely answers queries posed to him.
“Kejriwal must understand that he is no more in the opposition. Gone are the days when he can run away after asking questions. He should answer questions of the opposition and of the people,” Maken said.
He said Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had won a huge mandate in the 2015 assembly elections by making tall promises and by negating the work of the Congress government in Delhi in 15 years.
“Kejriwal came to power by weaving dreams. I call him a dream merchant. He made false criticism of the work of Congress governments led by Sheila Dikshit,” Maken said.
“Whether it is infrastructure, roads, health or education, the AAP government has failed. You won’t find a single new flyover project initiated in the last two years. No new hospital has been started,” Maken added.
He said the number of buses run by the city’s bus service DTC has come down in the last two years.
The AAP government has blamed the central government for delaying clearances for many of its projects, including allotment of land for hospitals by the Delhi Development Authority.
Maken also alleged that the Kejriwal government had not responded adequately when the city faced problems related to dengue and chikungunya.
Referring to the third phase of the Metro Rail project, Maken said it was the first time that the corporation had missed its completion deadline.
The Congress leader alleged that the Jan Lokpal Bill brought by the AAP government was “weak”.
“They said that they would end corruption, but has the promise been met? Many of their own MLAs and ministers have been booked by police (on various charges),” Maken said.
Maken, who has been a minister in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, alleged that the tussle witnessed between the central government and the Delhi government was “stage managed”.
“Much of the face-off is stage managed. It suits Kejriwal and (Prime Minister) Narendra Modi, because both of them have come to power by making tall promises. They have not been able to deliver on them,” Maken said.
He said the Congress was being strengthened “in a way that suits modern-day politics”.
The AAP had won 67 of 70 seats in the 2015 assembly elections while the Congress could not open its account.
Maken said the Congress had suffered electoral defeats earlier too and will bounce back to 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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