Feature
Priyanka Gandhi jeans wearing profile picture on Twitter creates spark on social media
New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s change of display picture on Twitter-from a sari-clad look to one in a pair of jeans-got the social media world talking.
Gandhi joined Twitter over a month ago and has 2,56,000 followers.
On Wednesday, she changed her Twitter profile picture the one in which she was in a maroon sari with a long-sleeved blouse. Her new avatar flaunted jeans and a blue shirt.
The change in the profile picture got Twitterati talking.
“Priyanka Vadraji’s make-up for election campaign, change the jeans and wear the sari, leave the English and try to make fool in Hindi. Husband is under investigation for list of scams and herself talks about country. Sheer shameless. All her rallies must be boycotted,” a user said.
“Gandhiji always wore one type of clothes. But what about you. Sometime jeans and top, other times sari. Not confident about your clothing? Do you think people can be be fooled by wearing sari,” another added.
Priyanka Gandhi change profile picture from saree to jeans grab attention on social media:
Gandhi did not just invite trolls, there were quite a few compliments that came her way, as well.
“Finally a woman politician wearing jeans in Twitter DP, in public…Priyanka, takes it a notch higher,” one user wrote, while another commented: “A tight slap to all who criticised her for wearing sari only at the time of elections… Plain, simple and just her….. Take that Bhakts?”
A user said: “I love Priyanka Gandhi’s new Twitter DP. Cool and causal in denims. She is the modern Indian woman who is comfortable in a sari and pair of jeans and is not afraid to let the world know she wears both. We need such open and liberated women politicians in India.”
Priyanka’s decision to change the profile picture is seemingly a reply to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Harish Dwivedi, who passed a remark on her appearance after she joined Twitter on February 11.
Dwivedi had said: “When Gandhi visits UP (Uttar Pradesh), she is in a sari and wears sindoor, while she wears ‘jeans and top’ in Delhi.”
Congress President Rahul Gandhi appointed younger sibling Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the eastern Uttar Pradesh in-charge on January 23.
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.