Feature
Congress-BJP tie-up in Gondia a miracle: Sena
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena on Friday dubbed the decision of the BJP and the Congress to jointly take power in Maharashtra’s Gondia Zilla Parishad as a “miracle” that will affect state politics.
After the arch rivals embraced each other following a hung verdict, the Sena’s ire was directed chiefly at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules Maharashtra in alliance with the Sena.
“You can never predict who will join hands with who in politics,” said an editorial in the Sena’s mouthpiece “Saamna”.
“Friends of 25 years become enemies while sworn rivals from birth suddenly become friends. All this is a miracle of power, and even the great magician P.C. Sorcar cannot create such magic,” it said.
The Sena said it was the Congress which levelled corruption charges against the BJP.
And poking fun at the BJP, the editorial said that taking a decision of “this magnitude” needed “a lot of strength and courage” which its ally had shown.
“We have no doubts now that with such a daring party ruling the state, the problems of farmers, labourers and unemployed shall be solved in a jiffy.”
Though the recent results of the Gondia and Bhandara Zilla Parishads were “unfortunate”, the Sena said it had advised its activists against joining hands with the Congress or NCP as it could invite public wrath.
“The BJP may plead political expediency or helplessness with this tie-up. Tomorrow, in a similar situation, should we sprinkle Ganga water at Pakistan’s feet?” the editorial wondered.
It urged the BJP not to make entire Vidarbha become another Gondia-Bhandara as it would be betraying the trust of the people of the region.
In the 53-member Gondia Parishad, the Nationalist Congress Party bagged 20 seats, the Congress 16 and the BJP 17.
Cobbling up a quick post-poll alliance, the Congress and the BJP have bagged the two top posts of Zilla Parishad president and vice-president, leaving the NCP out in the cold.
In neigbhouring Bhandara, however, the Congress and the NCP have entered into an alliance.
Maharashtra Congress president Ashok Chavan has termed the development as “purely local” and has sought a report on the Gondia alliance from the party unit in Gondia.
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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