Feature
Rahul Gandhi predicts Narendra Modi won’t survive if this allegation proves against him
Alleging French defence major Dassault Aviation of paying “kickback” to secure the Rafale deal, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Friday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not survive if the “huge corruption” in the purchase was probed.
“If an inquiry starts on this (Rafale deal), Modi is not going to survive it, guaranteed,” Gandhi said at a press conference at the party headquarters here.
Citing two reasons for his claims, he said: “One, because of corruption. Two, because it is very clear who the decision maker was… Nobody would be able to say that some general in the Air Force or the Defence Minister or some bureaucrat from the Defence Ministry. It was a deal done by Narendra Modi to give Anil Ambani Rs 30,000 crore,” he said.
Gandhi also said that if there was nothing to hide, Modi would have ordered an inquiry into the decision to purchase the fighter jets from France.
“If the Prime Minister was not involved, he would have said ‘let there be an enquiry by the CBI or the Supreme Court’. But he is silent. He has lost his sleep because of tension because he knows he will be caught.”
Referring to Dassault Aviation investing Rs 284 crore in a “loss making” Indian company, Gandhi said it was the “first instalment of kickback” that was paid by the French defence major to secure the deal.
“Dassault CEO (Eric Trappier) had claimed his company chose Reliance as its offsets partner because it had land available next to an airport. But now it has been revealed that the land was bought by the money that was invested by Dassault.
“The CEO is lying. The big question is why a firm would invest Rs 284 crore in a company with a capital of just over Rs 8 lakh and is loss making? It is clear cut that this (investment) is the first instalment of kickback given by Dassault,” said Gandhi.
The Congress President alleged that Trappier was “lying” to save Modi who in April 2015 had announced the inter-governmental deal to buy 36 Rafale jets in “complete violation” of defence procurement policies.
He also alleged that Central Bureau of Investigation Director Alok Kumar Verma was “removed” because he was looking into documents pertaining to the deal that could nail the Prime Minister.
“The CBI chief was looking into all these papers it is obvious that there is enough material in public domain to nail Modi,” said Gandhi, alleging that Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s recent visit to France was a part of a cover-up which the Modi government was indulging in to prevent the truth from coming out.
While asserting that his party would continue demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the deal, Gandhi said: “Modi is terrified and will never agree for a JPC.”
Reiterating that French President Emmanuel Macron had told him that there was no secrecy clause about the price factor in the Rafale deal, Gandhi said: “Pricing cannot be part of the secrecy clause.
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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