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Congress condemns decision to discontinue Indira, Rajiv stamps
New Delhi: The Congress on Tuesday condemned the Centre’s decision to discontinue two postal stamps on Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, saying people “will not let the government get away with lowly politics of revenge.”
In a statement, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said that Right to Information replies and news reports have revealed that the government has decided to discontinue postal stamps that were issued in memory of the two prime ministers.
“The distastefully brazen manner in which the government has decided to discontinue the postal stamps depicts that hatred of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government in seeking personal vendetta has reached its zenith,” he said.
“How low can Modi government stoop in its sinister attempt to erase the memory of the two martyr prime ministers?” he asked.
The spokesperson said the Modi government had also changed names of two awards – ‘Indira Gandhi Raj Bhasha Purushkar’ and ‘Rajiv Gandhi Rashtriya Gian-Vigyan Pustak Lekhan Purshkar’ by removing names of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi.
“Coming on the heels of blatantly partisan move of diluting the essence of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, this is yet again a black-hearted attempt to sidestep and expunge a powerful legacy of sacrifice and selfless nation building that is alien to BJP-RSS,” Surjewala said.
He said the Congress would take to the streets against the “blatantly partisan revisionism”.
An RTI query by the Indian Express has revealed that the stamps featuring the two prime ministers launched by the Department of Posts in December 2008, as part of its series `Builders of Modern India’, has been discontinued.
A Communications and IT ministry official told IANS that “omissions and additions” from an old series of stamp was a process and “nothing political” should be read into the move.
“There are additions and deletions with the introduction of a new series,” the official said.
The news report also said that the Department of Posts was launching another series ‘Makers of India’ which will have 24 stamps featuring prominent personalities and a stamp on yoga.
It said that only four personalities – Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Mother Teresa and B.R. Ambedkar, who featured in `Builders of Modern India’ series will be part of the new series.
The Congress spokesperson said like other great nation builders, including Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Vallabhbhai Patel, B.R. Ambedkar, Rajendra Prasad, Subhash Chandra Bose and Lal Bahadur Shashtri, both Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi shall always live in the hearts of people of the country.
“They are, indeed, a part of the soul and essence that symbolizes India,” Surjewala said, adding people need to be told how Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi led the country from one achievement to another and had strived for India’s unity and made the supreme sacrifice.
“They were not leaders of the Congress alone but leaders of the nation and its people,” Surjewala said.
“Congress strongly condemns painful and poisonous attempts of Modi government at revising and rewriting India’s legacy of service and sacrifice. People of this country will not let this government get away with lowly politics of revenge,” Surjewala added.
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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