Feature
Akhilesh Yadav’s sister-in-law Aparna came in support of Shivpal Singh
Lucknow: The younger daughter-in-law of Samajwadi Party’s (SP’s) founder Mulayam Singh Yadav, Aparna who is married to Prateek came in support of Uncle Shivpal Singh and his party Samajwadi Secular Morcha on Saturday.
As the feud in Yadav family rages on, Aparna Yadav, the daughter-in-law of Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav announced her support for Mulayam Singh’s brother and former SP leader Shivpal Yadav.
The young and energetic lady Aparna, who is married to Prateek, the younger son of Mulayam Singh Yadav, declared her support for Chacha Ji and his party Samajwadi Secular Morcha on Saturday. She added that she would work towards strengthening the Samajwadi Secular Morcha.
She shared the stage with Shivpal Yadav, the convenor of Samajwadi Secular Morcha, at a function organised in Lucknow on Saturday said, “I have always respected Chacha Ji and Neta Ji (Mulayam Singh Yadav) and we will work towards making Secular Morcha stronger.
Aparna also said that Shivpal Yadav would decide a suitable time for her to join and contest for Secular Morcha.
Mulayam bahu Aparna gives 440 watts shock to Akhilesh by extending support to Shivpal:
Speaking on the occasion, the Jaswantnagar MLA and Samajwadi Secular Morcha founder Shivpal Yadav said, “Time has come to take some big decisions. We want to bring the change in the society. More than 24 political parties are in our touch and we will be taking BJP head on in the upcoming elections.”
The Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav had made an appearance at a function alongside his brother Shivpal Yadav for the first time since the Samajwadi Secular Morcha was launched on Friday earlier. The event was organised to mark the death anniversary of the party’s ideologue Ram Manohar Lohia.
Mulayam, who garlanded a statue of Lohia, refrained from taking questions from media at Lucknow. However, Shivpal Yadav, in his address expressed happiness over the presence of his elder brother. “Today Neta Ji has graced us with his presence and has given us his blessings. I am sure he will continue to give us his blessings in the future also,” he had said.
The former senior leader Shivpal Yadav launched ‘Samajwadi Secular Morcha’ after expressing his disappointment with the Samajwadi Party leadership in August.
Entertainment
Meghalaya Reserves Legalized Gambling and Sports Betting for Tourists
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.