Feature
Now, Shiv Sena targets judiciary
Mumbai: Apparently peeved by a recent Supreme Court ruling restricting the use of pictures of politicians in government advertisements, the Shiv Sena trained guns on the judiciary, terming the latest move as ‘unjust’ here on Friday.
Referring to the ruling which allows only the pictures of president, prime minister or the chief justice in government advertisements, the Sena asked whether this could amount to insulting the democratically elected state governments, the parliament and the legislatures.
In a sharp edit in the party mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena pointed out that whenever the courts give any verdict, we say, “Yes, Maharaj! We accept it!” and nod our heads in agreement, taking care to ensure nobody commits a contempt of court.
“But in recent times, do the courts deliver judgements or just bypass the elected governments and are themselves directing the administration? Now, since it is the SC which has given this ruling, all of us have no option but to bow and nod ‘Yes, Maharaj!’ in agreement,” the Sena said.
Recently, the edit pointed out, the Maharashtra assembly initiated contempt proceedings against a woman (Shobhaa De, but the edit has not named her) for insulting Marathis, but even there the court stayed the assembly’s actions.
“Then why do we rave about democracy and take pains in sun or rains to constitute assemblies… One one hand we sing paeans to democracy and on the other, the courts deliver orders which break the very back of democracy,” the Sena said.
The judiciary insists the government should not interfere in the selection or appointment of judges, over which a huge controversy is currently raging.
“The judiciary is independent. Then why can’t the judiciary accept that the parliament and legislatures are also supreme? Frequent interventions in government functioning don’t serve to enhance the image of the judiciary,” the Sena urged.
Pointing out that there are black sheep everywhere, including politics and judiciary and although the judiciary should never be insulted, the manner in which most retired judges have commented on it (the judiciary) is also a matter of concern.
“Who should marry whom, how should husbands and wives behave, what should be colour of the bedroom curtains, what we should eat or not, what should be done of Ram Temple… should the courts decide all these?” the Sena demanded.
“If so, then why is the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary issue pending since 60 years, the manner in which the court gave a speedy decision in Salman Khan case, why was the same (speed) not visible in the case of Sadhvi Pragnya Singh Thakur, Col. Prasad Purohit or Asaram Bapu?” it added.
Pointing to another issue, the Sena asked the judiciary to concentrate on the lakhs of pending litigation in various courts around the country and deliver its sharp stand on various issues like a uniform civil code or Article 370 which can make Jammu and Kashmir an integral part of India.
“Its perfectly fine to curb those who are defacing urban centres with huge hoardings, but imposing a ban (of photos in government ads) of this type is ‘unjust’ to the democratically elected peoples’ representatives… it would only reduce the peoples’ faith in the judiciary,” the Sena said.
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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