Feature
Sisodia accuses BJP of coup, Kejriwal seeks meeting with president
New Delhi: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Saturday alleged that the BJP was trying to stage a coup in Delhi through Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung as the tussle between the government and Jung took another turn with senior bureaucrat Shakuntala Gamlin taking charge as interim chief secretary.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, meanwhile, said he was seeking an appointment with President Pranab Mukherjee.
“Seeking an appointment with the president to apprise him of Delhi’s situation,” Kejiwal tweeted.
An official, who did not want to be named, said Gamlin took additional charge as Delhi’s chief secretary. “Yes, she has taken charge… She is working in her office and is clearing files,” the official told.
Jung on Friday gave Gamlin, who was functioning as principal secretary (services), additional charge of chief secretary of Delhi since the incumbent, K.K. Sharma is in the US for personal work.
The AAP government on Friday accused Jung of “by-passing” the elected government, the chief minister and the deputy chief minister.
Jung, however, asserted that he was “competent” to make the appointment and had expressed regret “that name of senior officer was being brought in public domain in such a manner, that too a lady officer and one belonging to the northeast”.
Sisodia alleged through a series of tweets on Saturday that the Bharatiya Janata Party had sought to stage a coup against the government through the Lt governor.
“In Delhi yesterday (Friday) the BJP made an attempt to overthrow the government through the the LG,” he said.
“Through the LG, a government elected with historic mandate, the chief minister, the deputy chief minister had been sidelined and effort has been made to run the administration directly,” he said.
Sisodia alleged that Jung had sought to take control of the Delhi government in utter violation of the constitution.
He said the constitution says the Lt governor will talk to the concerned minister in case of differences on an issue and, if not satisfied, will write to the cabinet.
“If the issue is not resolved, he will write to the president. Whatever directions come from the president, he will tell it to the minister and not to an officer directly. The LG does not have right to bypass a minister and give orders to an officer directly.”
BJP spokesman Nalin Kohli, however, rejected the AAP allegations and termed them as “baseless.”
“If there is a constitutional crisis created by the chief minister, it is mandatory for the Lt governor to resolve it,” he 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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