Feature
AAP not to table Jan Lokpal bill in budget session
New Delhi: In what is seen as an attmept to mend fences, Delhi’s AAP government wants the centre to whet its anti-graft Jan Lokpal Bill before it is tabled in the assembly – a process it did not follow in the measure’s previous avtar and which means its tabling in next month’s budget has been pushed back.
The Arvind Kejriwal government, which in its previous 49-day tenure had resigned over the failure to get the bill passed in the Delhi Assembly last year, does not want to “rush” this time . This means it will miss its deadline of presenting the Bill in the Budget session in June.
“We don’t want to rush this time. We will send the draft (of the bill) to the centre first. Some changes have been made to the draft presented in 2014,” a Delhi government official told, requesting anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the media.
Kejriwal had resigned last February when both the Congress and the BJP had opposed the tabling of the Bil, terming this “unconstitutional” as it was not vetted by the centre.
This time around, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung are engaged in a bittter row over the transfer of bureaucrats, with the matter reaching President Pranab Mukherjee, the Supreme Court and the Delhi High Court.
Jung had objected to the tabling of the previous Bill, saying it contravened constitutional procedures.
Thus, the AAP’s present move is being seen by political observers as a means to resolve the dispute over transfers and shake hands with Jung.
The AAP, which returned to power by winning 67 of the 70 seats in the assembly elections earlier thos had positioned the Jan Lokpal bill as one of its key poll promises.
“Procedurally, the draft of the bill will be sent to the Lt. Governor, who will pass it on to the home ministry. The home ministry will seek the opinion of the law ministry,” another official told IANS, also requesting anonymity.
“And, if the home ministry finds it okay or suggests changes, it will send it back tothe LG, who will give the government the go-ahead to introduce the legislation,” he added.
According to sources, the draft of the bill is on the lines of Uttarakhand’s Lokayukta Bill.
It will give the Delhi Lokpal the power to prosecute even the chief minister and ensure that the trial is completed within six months.
However, constitutional experts have argued that the proposed law is in conflict with the central Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act passed by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance in 2013.
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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