Feature
Modi forced to bow before power of plough and hand: Sonia
New Delhi: Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was forced to “bow” on the land bill issue before the power of the “plough and hand”.
In a hard-hitting attack on Modi at the “Kisan Samman Rally” held by the Congress at the Ramlila Maidan here to mark the party’s “victory” on the land bill, Gandhi charged the BJP-led government with failing on all fronts.
In a speech in Hindi, Gandhi said Modi has time only for his industrialist friends, and not for farmers and labourers.
She accused the government of trying to create tension and said prices of food commodities have risen sharply.
“The Modi government, as is its habit, is indulging in just talking and making speeches. It is encouraging activities which take away attention of the people from the real issues. It wants to create such tension which will be a danger for the country’s future and national unity. It is the biggest challenge before us which we have to face unitedly,” Gandhi said.
She said the country’s interest was supreme for the Congress party and it was prepared to make any sacrifice for it.
The Congress chief said Modi overlooked the seriousness of the agitation against the “black” land ordinance, but “had to bow his head” when the “force of hand and plough combined together”.
The hand is the election symbol of the Congress and the plough is associated with the farming community.
She said the Congress’s victory on the land bill was not of an individual but of all those who took part in the struggle.
“They wanted to snatch land through the land ordinance. You (farmers) toil hard to meet our requirements of food. You are not only our food-givers but makers of our destiny,” she said.
The Modi government allowed its ordinance to lapse following stiff opposition from the Congress to changes in the 2013 Act on land acquisition which was passed during the United Progressive Alliance government.
The new land bill of the National Democratic Alliance government is being examined by a joint committee of parliament but the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party has already made significant changes in its stance on the legislation by relenting on crucial clauses such as consent and social impact assessment.
Gandhi said the struggle against the land bill has not ended but “the battlefield has shifted to the states”.
“The prime minister has failed at the Centre (to change the land law) and now wants to bring the same (changes) through the states. If we are not alert, the struggle will go in vain and you will lose your land,” Gandhi said.
She said farmers were facing many problems, including drought and shortage of seeds and fertiliser.
“While the UPA government provided a loan waiver to farmers of Rs.72 lakh crore, the Modi government, instead of helping them, has provided tax benefit of Rs.40,000 crore to foreign capitalists,” Gandhi said.
“It seems he (Modi) has no interest or time to solve your problems. If he has hours (of time), it is for industrialists. And yes, he has a lot of interest for foreign visits,” Gandhi added.
The Congress president said Modi had made lofty promises and the youth of the country was looking for employment.
“What happened to your promise? It seems you have closed your ears and eyes. The government has failed in every field.”
She said Modi accuses the Congress of being an impediment in development to take attention away from his government’s failures.
“Such remarks evoke laughter and a sense of pity in me. I want to ask him where were people of his ideology when freedom was being fought. Our party which has fought for freedom, can it be an impediment to progress,” Gandhi asked.
She said the party will come in the way of the government for any move against the interests of farmers, labourers and the common man.
“If development means benefiting a few, we will oppose it. Today, there is no such section whose problems have not increased manifold. Every person is facing difficulties,” Gandhi said.
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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