Feature
CPI-M alleges “tacit understanding” between BJP, TMC
Kolkata: Making a scorning attack on the Narendra Modi government and the Mamata Banerjee government, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) today claimed that both the governments had a “tacit understanding” and pushed the people to strengthen Left forces in the country.
Addressing a massive rally at the Brigade Parade Grounds here, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo member Brinda Karat charged the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre with having a tacit understanding.
“The communal BJP and the RSS, they are known to break the country and not unite it. We will not yield even a single inch to them. The Trinamool and BJP, they wrestle outside but inside they are friends,” said Brinda.
“At a time when the Modi government is attempting communal polarisation, we need to have a strong voice coming from Bengal. This is not the fight of the Left alone but the fight for Bengal, fight for the entire country,” she said.
Referring to the lynching of a man in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh and the killing of Dalit children in Haryana, Brinda Karat wondered why the Trinamool did not protest when the whole country was doing so.
“When the whole country was protesting, people were returning their awards against the Dadri lynching and killing of children in Haryana, the Trinamool MPs were nowhere to be seen. Where were they?” she asked.
“Well, they were either in jail or on bail for the Saradha,” said the Marxist leader referring the multi-crore-rupee scam in which several of Trinamool leaders have been indicted.
Karat also flayed Banerjee for Bengal topping the country in terms of crime against women.
“Such is the state of affairs that having a woman chief minister, Bengal leads the country in terms of crime against women.”
“I am not saying such crimes don’t happen in the rest of the country, but in Bengal we have the chief minister who makes insensitive comments on rapes or tries to cover them by calling the incident as fabricated,” she said.
Addressing the rally, veteran Marxist leader Biman Bose lambasted the Banerjee government for attacking democracy.
“Unless and until we are able to reinstate democracy in Bengal, our fight for workers, farmers, common people will never materialise. We have to uproot the Trinamool and establish democracy,” said Bose.
The massive rally attended by its central leadership kick-started the CPI-M’s five-day plenum here ahead of the crucial assembly polls in its erstwhile citadels West Bengal and Kerala in the first half of 2016.
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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