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Lalitgate: Sushma speaks, Congress attacks her, Modi
New Delhi: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on Thursday made a passionate defence of her role in the Lalit Modi affair, but the Congress tore into her and blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the unending parliament logjam.
Detailing her role for the first time in parliament, the minister — whose resignation has been sought by the opposition — sought to give a humanitarian twist to the saga, saying she acted the way she did only because the former IPL chief’s wife faced a life threatening situation.
She insisted that she did not recommend to the British government to issue travel documents to Lalit Modi but wanted to help his wife, a cancer patient in Portugal.
In an emotional speech in the Lok Sabha that was devoid of most opposition members, she said the allegations that she recommended British travel documents for Lalit Modi were “wrong and baseless”.
“I have not helped Lalit Modi but his wife who is an Indian national, (who is) not involved in any crime. Is it a crime to help a woman like this? If it is a crime, I have committed it. I accept it. If the house wants to give punishment, I am ready.
“If it had been (Congress president) Sonia Gandhi in my place, what she would have done?” she asked, inviting cheers from the treasury benches.
“I never made a recommendation or request to the British government to give travel documents to him.”
The minister said she verbally conveyed to the British government that if “it chooses to give travel documents to Lalit Modi, it will not spoil bilateral relationship between the two countries”.
In no time, the Congress accused her of impropriety and misuse of office besides a keenness “to help a person wanted by law agencies in India”. The party called her statement “hogwash”.
“Her statement (in parliament) exposes her,” Congress leader Anand Sharma told the media.
“Should a minister be clandestinely arranging or facilitating the issue of travel documents, the request for which was rejected earlier by British authorities?” he asked.
“There was no life threatening situation” to Lalit Modi’s wife, he said, adding that Lalit Modi, after getting the British travel document, went on a virtual global tour.
To back its statement, the Congress showed on a projector several file pictures of Modi enjoying himself in tourist havens and partying with male and female friends.
Sharma said it would have been understandable if Sushma Swaraj had ordered the issue of Indian travel documents to Lalit Modi as he was an Indian national.
“Why intervene voluntarily when the British government and their authorities have not asked the Indian government (whether to issue travel documents to Lalit Modi or not).
“And then to say ‘I have made no recommendation’, this is ridiculous.”
The Congress also targeted Prime Minister Modi, saying he “cannot brazen it out by remaining silent.
“Accountability cannot have dual standards. There cannot be a different rule book for the Modi government and his ministers.
“We in the opposition are duty bound to enforce accountability. It is the PM and his government who are purely responsible for the disruption in parliament.
“The PM is complicit by silence. He is endorsing acts of … arrogance and obduracy which has caused the logjam in parliament.”
Both houses of parliament have been virtually crippled since the monsoon session began on July 21, with the opposition demanding the resignation of Sushma Swaraj as well as the BJP chief ministers of Rajasthan (Vasundhara Raje) and Madhya Pradesh (Shivraj Singh Chouhan).
Raje is said to have close links with Lalit Modi while Chouhan is being blamed for the Vyapam recruitment scam that has led to around 40 deaths. The Bharatiya Janata Party and the government have said none of them will quit.
Sushma Swaraj said earlier that she had been waiting to respond to charges hurled at her during a debate. “If I do not get a chance to speak, it will be injustice.”
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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