Feature
Ahead of Rajya Sabha election, Naresh Agrawal left SP joins BJP
New Delhi: Senior Samajwadi Party’s Rajya Sabha member Naresh Agrawal, who has changed parties frequently in his three-decade-old political career, on Monday joined the BJP here and straightaway stoked a controversy saying “film actor and dancer” Jaya Bachchan has been preferred over him for candidature by the SP in the upcoming elections to the Upper House, remarks which were denounced by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who held a press conference to announce the entry of Agrawal at the party headquarters, and BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra were visibly embarrassed by the remarks. Patra sought to contain the damage by calling an end to the briefing before saying that BJP respects the contribution of every individual whichever field they work in.
However, Swaraj termed his remarks “improper and unacceptable”.
“I was compared with a person working in the films… I was rejected for those who dance in films, work in films. I found it not proper. Nobody found it proper,” said Agrawal, who is set to retire from the Rajya Sabha on April 2.
He was referring to the re-nomination of renowned film actor Jaya Bachchan by the Samajwadi Party for yet another Rajya Sabha term from Uttar Pradesh in the coming biennial elections, ignoring Agrawal’s claim.
With its reduced strength in the Uttar Pradesh assembly following assembly elections last year, the Samajwadi Party is in a position to win only one Rajya Sabha seat from the state.
Sushma Swaraj conveyed her disapproval of Agrawal’s remarks in a tweet. “Shri Naresh Agarwal has joined Bharatiya Janata Party. He is welcome.
However, his comments regarding Jaya Bachchan ji are improper and unacceptable,” she said.
During the press conference, Agrawal also announced that his son Nitin Agarwal, who is a Samajwadi Party MLA, will vote for the BJP in the biennial elections to the upper house.
He described his joining the BJP as “homecoming” and said he would unconditionally do whatever the party wanted him to.
“I have not joined the Bharatiya Janata Party for any Rajya Sabha ticket, nor have I set any condition.”
Naresh Agrawal gives big jolt to Samajwadi Party by joining BJP before RS polls:
Agrawal, who has been one of the most vocal critics of the Narendra Modi government and the BJP in the Rajya Sabha in the last few years, lauded the Prime Minister and BJP chief Amit Shah.
“I am inspired by the Prime Minister and Yogiji. The fact that one after the other all states are going to BJP proves that the entire country is with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership,” he said.
Agrawal also said he felt that he cannot serve the entire country till he was in a national party.
Referring to Samajwadi Party leaders Mulayam Singh Yadav and Ram Gopal Yadav, Agrawal said he will continue to respect them for the regard they had given him.
He said the Samajwadi Party was losing its grip in Uttar Pradesh by aligning with parties such as the Congress or the BSP. Agrawal said the Samajwadi Party was a strong force in 2012 but had been considerably weakened.
Agarwal, who belongs to the trading community, also referred to the traditional support of the community to the BJP. ”
“My society is already with BJP. My community people will be very happy today that Naresh has come to his original place,” he said.
Agrawal, who had been an MLA several times and a minister in Uttar Pradesh, has often changed parties in the last over 30 years of his political career. He has also stoked controversies.
Agrawal had earlier been with the Loktantrik Congress Party with Jagdambika Pal that allied with the BJP government headed by Kalyan Singh in Uttar Pradesh in 1997.
He also served as a minister in the Kalyan Singh, Ram Prakash Gupta and Rajnath Singh regimes.
He later joined the Samajwadi Party and was a minister in the Mulayam Singh government. He subsequently joined the Bahujan Samaj Party before returning to the Samajwadi Party.
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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