Feature
Nitish Kumar to launch signature drive over PM’s DNA remark
Patna: A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi failed to comply with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s request to take back his “DNA” remark, the Janata Dal-United leader on Monday announced he would launch a ‘Shabdwapsi’ drive to protest the remark.
The drive, meant to protest the prime minister’s July 25 remark about Nitish Kumar’s DNA, is scheduled to commence on Tuesday (August 11) with sit-ins across Bihar. It will collect signatures of 50 lakh people and send their blood samples to Modi for a DNA test.
Janata Dal-United (JD-U) spokesperson Ajay Alok said the party would stage sit-ins across the state on the issue on Tuesday and hold a ‘Swabhiman’ rally on Aug 29 here.
Nitish Kumar recently tweeted: “In this shabdwapsi (take back your words) campaign, at least 50 lakh people of Bihar will join a signature campaign and send their samples to Modiji for a DNA test”.
The participants will offer samples of their DNA and sign a petition saying that the prime minister’s comments crossed the line.
“PM Modi hasn’t retracted his derogatory remarks on our DNA, we’ll take the battle to people now,” Nitish Kumar said..
Alok said the rally would be jointly addressed by Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad.
“It will kickstart the joint rally campaign by the grand alliance of JD-U, RJD, Congress and National Congress Party to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance ahead of next assembly polls,” he said.
Modi, who addressed a rally in Gaya on Sunday, did not respond to Nitish Kumar’s request to consider taking back comments on his DNA. “Neither he mentioned it nor he countered it. He simply ignored it,” a senior BJP leader said.
Last week, in a letter released on Twitter, Nitish Kumar said: “Most of us feel that these statements, beyond questioning my own descent, have disrespected the lineage of our people and have denigrated the great legacy of the state.”
Addressing a public meeting in Muzaffarpur district on July 25, Modi said: “There seems to be some problem in his (Nitish Kumar) DNA because the DNA of democracy is not like that. In democracy, you give respect even to your political rivals.”
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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