Feature
V.K. Singh stirs row with ‘dog’ remark, clarifies
New Delhi: Union minister V.K. Singh on Thursday triggered a huge row when he spoke of a dog’s stoning while commenting on the burning of two Dalit children. As opposition parties demanded his sacking, the former army chief clarified that he had been misunderstood.
Asked about the gory killing by upper castes of the children in a Haryana village, the former army chief said: “If someone throws stones at a dog, the government is not responsible. It was a feud between two families, the matter in under inquiry.
“Failure of the administration should not be put on the government’s head,” he added.
The opposition immediately pounced on the Bharatiya Janata Party MP.
The Congress sought his removal from the Narendra Modi ministry, adding he should be booked under law.
“What V.K. Singh said was shocking, inhuman and unacceptable… I do not understand what is happening to Modi’s ministers,” spokesman Randeep Surjewala told the media.
He said a case should be filed against the minister under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also called for V.K. Singh’s sacking and a police case against him.
“V.K. Singh’s statement is shameful and prosecutable,” the Aam Aadmi Party leader tweeted.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar also slammed him: “Aghast at the senseless comment made by some BJP leaders including … on the tragic Dalit killings in Haryana.”
Amid the volley of criticism, the minister clarified that his statement wasn’t intended to draw an analogy.
“My men and I put our lives on the line for the nation irrespective of caste, creed and religion.
“I standby to serve India with the same spirit, right now and always. Our nation, its success and its people motivate me daily,” he said in a series of tweets.
He, however, said that “localised issues” should not be blown up.
V.K. Singh’s comments follow the torching of a Dalit family’s house in a village in Faridabad district bordering Delhi in Haryana that left two children dead and their mother in critical condition.
The gory killings have triggered widespread condemnation and largescale street protests.
The minister told CNN-IBN that if “anyone feels if I called Dalit dogs, they are out of their minds”.
Talking to reporters later, the minister sought to blame the media for mixing up his analogy of a dog’s killing with the burning of two Dalit children.
“If the journalist mixes the two (issues), the person should leave journalism and go to the mental asylum in Agra,” he said.
That comment too drew flak even as the BJP tried to defend him.
BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said: “The minister has given a clarification (that) he was misquoted…. Let us not blow it out of proportion.
“A trend has started to politicise all issues on caste and communal lines. Let us not make everything a caste and communal issue,” said Patra.
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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