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BJP leader regrets Godse remarks after protests
New Delhi: BJP MP Sakshi Maharaj Friday regretted in the Lok Sabha his remarks eulogising Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse after vociferous protests by the opposition both inside and outside the house.
The house was in uproar over the issue as soon as it met for the day until the member from Unnao in Uttar Pradesh finally said: “I regret my remarks and take back my words.”
The Congress earlier sought suspension of the question hour and moved an adjournment motion over the issue but Speaker Sumitra Mahajan rejected the request.
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said the killer of Mahatma Gandhi was being praised, “which is a serious matter”.
Members of the opposition gathered near the speaker’s podium and shouted “Hey Ram!” — the last two words Gandhi uttered before he fell to the killer’s bullets — forcing the house to be adjourned for 10 minutes.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu said the government did not associate itself with the remarks made by Sakshi Maharaj and the member was ready to apologise.
Soon after, Sakshi Maharaj said: “I take back my words. I have already taken back my words. I respect Bapu (Mahatma Gandhi). They (opposition) don’t have any issue, so they are creating an issue. I regret if some people have been hurt.”
An unrelenting opposition insisted that he apologise unconditionally.
“The entire nation is worried… he should render an unconditional apology,” Kharge said.
After this, the MP said: “I regret my remarks and take back my words.”
The Congress also led a protest outside Parliament House near Mahatma Gandhi’s statue.
Party leaders Kharge and Jyotiraditya Scindia were among those who were seen sitting and chanting slogans of “Hey Ram”.
On Thursday, the issue had disrupted the Rajya Sabha.
The upper house had witnessed protests by opposition members on the issue of Godse being eulogised in Maharashtra, leading to the house being adjourned twice. But the government made it clear that there was no question of supporting any such move.
Godse was a Pune born Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh member who shot Mahatma Gandhi Jan 30, 1948 at a prayer meeting in Delhi. He was deeply influenced by Veer Savarkar, a Hindu ideologue.
He was a high-school dropout and became an activist with Hindu nationalist organisations such as the Hindu Mahasabha and the RSS, the parental ideologue of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Godse was sentenced to death Nov 8, 1949 and hanged a week later. He was the first man to be executed in independent India. Along with him, Narayan Apte was also hanged for plotting the assassination.
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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