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Uddhav Thackeray admits to ‘no communication’ with Amit Shah
Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has admitted that there is barely any communication between him and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah.
“No, there is no dialogue between us,” Thackeray said tersely in the third and concluding instalment of his three-part marathon annual interview ahead of his birthday on July 27, published in the party mouthpiece Saamana, on Saturday.
Shiv Sena is the second biggest ally of the BJP in the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA). The two parties ruled Maharashtra from 1995-1999 and have had a political alliance for the last 25 years, barring a three-month ‘break’ in late 2014.
The Sena chief said he remains at home, but does meet Shah when he visits New Delhi — hinting at the past when all top BJP leaders including former Prime Minister A.B. Vajpayee, L.K. Advani and the late Pramod Mahajan were regulars at the Thackeray home ‘Matoshree’ in Bandra.
“Last time, he had phoned me and I had gone for his son’s wedding,” he said, apparently clarifying that his personal relations with Shah remain cordial and there was no complete breakdown.
In this context, he declined to reply to the interviewer, Saamana executive editor Sanjay Raut’s query whether the Sena was taken into confidence before forming the alliance government in Maharashtra — “The curtains have been drawn on that episode… I don’t want to rake it up again.”
Thackeray, however, said that in the BJP he enjoys an excellent rapport with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, describing him as “the top party leader in the state after all”.
On the perceived grouse of the Sena ministers in the state cabinet at being doled out ‘insignificant’ portfolios, Thackeray said “every department/ministry is important, it all depends on the person handling it”.
He castigated Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar for his remarks that if the Sena had any dignity it would walk out of the state alliance.
“They want the government to collapse soon, so then (they) can join it… I am not going to dislodge the government for them,” Thackeray asserted.
He also made it clear that the legendary ‘remote control’ once wielded on the state government by his father, the late Bal Thackeray, during the Shiv Sena-BJP government from 1995-1999, was now in the hands of the people of the state.
“I am not so great to wield that remote control… That remote control is now handled by the people… I am happy if some people feel it’s in my hands, but it will be utilised only for the benefit of the state. Till it continues to work for the masses, the state government need not fear the remote control,” Thackeray assured.
In the final part of the interview, Thackeray touched upon the issue of vegetarianism versus non-vegetarianism in the state, the Bangladeshi migrants who have developed deep roots here and warned against any move by the BJP to shift trade and commerce out of Mumbai.
He also flayed Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel’s invitation to the Mumbai corporates to shift to her state as there is ‘nothing’ left in Maharashtra, expressed displeasure over the delay in constructing a monument to his father (the late Bal Thackeray) and other issues.
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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