Feature
Owaisi attacks Narendra Modi over remark on Muslim community about fear
Hyderabad: The All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul-Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his remark that minorities are made to “live in an illusion of fear”. On Sunday, Owaisi said that if he really cares about Muslims, he should stop cow vigilantes from lynching Muslims.
After being appointed as Prime Minister for second term, Modi made a statement of concern for Muslims in Central Hall of Parliament, on Sunday. He showed care for minorities saying that “The way the poor have been cheated, the minorities have been deceived the same way”. He also added “It would have been good if their education, their health had been in focus. I expect from you in 2019 that you would be able to make a hole in that deception. We have to earn their trust”. Also he talked about parties who made them to live in fear and exploited them for vote-bank politics.
This statement of Modi was for opposition parties who forcefully use Muslim community for vote-bank politics. But Owaisi did not like PM’s comments. And he asked PM that “If Muslims seriously live in fear can the Prime Minister tell us, out of the 300 odd MPs, how many Muslims MPs he has in own party who got elected from Lok Sabha?”. “This is the hypocrisy and contradiction which the Prime Minister and his party have been practicing for the last five years.”
Owaisi suggests Narendra Modi first stop cow vigilantes to end lynching of Muslims:
Owaisi said “People who killed Akhlaq (in Dadri in 2015 for allegedly storing beef)” were sitting on the front benches during Modi’s address in Parliament. Asaduddin also asked that “If PM feels Muslims live in fear, will he stop gangs, who in the name of cow, are killing, beating Muslims, taking our videos and demeaning us?” he asked.
The AIMIM chief also stated that “As given in our constitution, the Right to Life is for human beings and not animals,”. “I am sure that if the Prime Minister realizes this, then the fear of minorities will go away”. He shared an incident about three youths who were beaten up, over a doubt of having beef with them. This incident took place in Seoni district in Madhya Pradesh.
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.