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Sasikala-backer Palaniswami to be Tamil Nadu CM

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8 years ago

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Chennai: E. Palaniswami, a loyalist of the now-jailed AIADMK General Secretary V.K. Sasikala, will on Thursday evening take oath as Tamil Nadu’s new Chief Minister.Governor C. Vidyasagar Rao invited Palaniswami, 64, earlier elected by AIADMK MLAs backing Sasikala as their legislature party leader, to form a ministry “at the earliest” and win a trust vote within 15 days.The move came a day after Palaniswami met the Governor and submitted a list of legislators backing himThe Governor’s invitation set off celebrations in the Sasikala camp even as outgoing acting Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam pledged to continue his fight against “one family” taking over the AIADMK Panneerselvam said people were angry that a new government was being formed with the support of legislators who, he said, were held for days in captivity at a resort near here.

Minister for Milk and Dairy Development K.T. Rajenthra Bhalaji said the Governor had saved democracy by inviting Palaniswami to form the government. He said the legislators would soon vacate the resort.Palaniswami aides said overnight that he had the backing of 124 of the 135 AIADMK MLAs, all holed up at the resort.The Governor’s invite was a clear sign that Panneerselvam had lost the numbers battle and that he had been unable to woo the majority of party MLAs to his side despite being the Chief Minister.Thursday’s celebrations by Palaniswami and the MLAs supporting him came after a day of gloom when Sasikala returned to the Bengaluru Central Jail after being held guilty of corruption by the Supreme Court.Also jailed with her were her relatives Elavarsi and V.N. Sudhakaran. Sasikala, who had wished to become the Chief Minister, is now barred from contesting elections for 10 years.

Palaniswami, the Minister of Public Works, Highways and Minor Ports in the outgoing government, AIADMK Deputy General Secretary T.T.V. Dinakaran and other leaders discussed government formation at the Poes Garden residence of the late Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa.An emboldened AIADMK owing allegiance to Sasikala made it clear it will never embrace Panneerselvam.Barring Panneerselvam and School Education Minister K. Pandiarajan, all other MLAs in “the rival camp are welcome to join us”, Handloom and Textiles Minister O.S. Manian told the media. Panneerselvam revolted against Sasikala on February 7, alleging he was forced to resign as Chief Minister to pave way for her to occupy the post.Sasikala hit back, sacking Panneerselvam as the AIADMK Treasurer and also from the party’s primary membership.

Earlier in the day, a senior leader in Panneerselvam’s camp told IANS that they expected a sizeable number of legislators from the Sasikala camp to join them. That was before the Governor invited Palaniswami.The Deputy Speaker of the Lok Sabha, M. Thambidurai, said Jayalalithaa’s legacy will continue in the state.Palaniswami was one of four ministers tasked by Jayalalithaa, who died on December 5, to advise her on party affairs. He was ranked number three in seniority.He was tipped for the Chief Minister’s post after Jayalalithaa died but that did not happen.Hailing from Nedungulam village in Salem district, Palaniswami belongs to the Gounder community.A farmer by profession, he joined the AIADMK in the 1980s and entered the Tamil Nadu assembly for the first time in 1989 from Edapadi constituency. After the Supreme Court upheld the earlier conviction of Sasikala, she chose Palaniswami as her successor as the leader of the party legislature wing.

 

 

 

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Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists

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2 years ago

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June 25, 2022

By

PureWin Online Betting

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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