TN Cabinet decides to pass again Bill to ban online gambling, send to Guv Ravi
Chennai, Mar 9: In a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister M K Stalin on Thursday, the Tamil Nadu government decided to pass again a Bill in the Assembly to ban online gambling and send it to Governor R N Ravi once more for his assent.
A day after Ravi returned the TN Prohibition of Online Gambling and Regulation of Online Games Bill stating that it lacked legislative competence, the government asserted that it has the competence to legislate on the matter.
Briefing reporters at the State Secretariat, Law Minister S Regupathy said that it has been decided in the Cabinet meeting to reintroduce the Bill in the Assembly, get it passed and send again to Governor Ravi for his assent.
The TN Assembly would meet on March 20 for Budget presentation and the duration of the session would be decided later.
"Ravi has said that we do not have authority to legislate on this matter. The TN Assembly has competence and we are going to pass the Bill and send it to him." The Governor is duty bound to give his assent when the Bill is adopted again in the Assembly, he said.
Regupathy cited the Constitution's State List Entries, 1 (Public order) 6 (Public health), 33 (Sports, entertainments and amusements) and (34 (Betting and gambling) and said that by following such provisions, the Bill was passed by the Assembly on October 19, 2022 and was sent to Governor Ravi for his assent.
The Governor cited Entry 33 and claimed that for the 'skilled games' category, the State legislature has no competence and has sent back the Bill and it is unacceptable, the Minister said.
The government had already clarified that the law is to ban online gambling and it has got nothing to do with 'skilled games.' Games of skill are held physically which rules out scope for irregularities or duping. However, online card games involving gambling is entirely different as it programmed. It facilitates automatic manipulation of any card and hence it is important to ban online gambling. This has been made amply clear. Also, the distinction between online and offline games has been underscored, he said.
Regupathy said that when Ravi sought certain clarifications it was given. However, the Governor has still returned the Bill stating that the legislature lacked competence to enact a law on this matter.
It is well known that the State legislature has competence on the matter and Governor Ravi had himself given his concurrence for an ordinance to ban onling gambling and it was duly promulgated.
The ordinance was promulgated after the HC had struck down on August 3, 2021 the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Gaming and Police Laws (Amendment) Act 2021, which banned wager or placing bet in cyber space. Such provisions were held by the High Court as ultra vires the Constitution.
The court had struck down the amendment Act for other deficiencies and not on the premise of competence of legislature, he said.
The court had then made it clear that there was no bar on the State legislature in coming up with a fresh Bill to ban online gambling.
Though the HC made it clear that the Tamil Nadu Assembly has competence to enact a law to ban online gambling, the Governor is claiming that the legislature does not have it, the Minister said.
Several people died by suicide in Tamil Nadu after losing money by playing online, card games like Rummy and Poker. It led to a sense of outrage and demands from political parties and people to get it banned. Telangana is among States that have banned online Rummy.
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Cong cites Kangana's purported remarks to accuse BJP of wanting to bring back repealed farm laws
New Delhi, Sep 24: The Congress on Tuesday cited BJP MP Kangana Ranaut's purported remarks on farm laws to allege that the ruling party was making efforts to bring back the three laws that were repealed in 2021, and asserted that Haryana will give a befitting reply to it.
The Congress shared on X an undated video of Ranaut in which she is purportedly saying in Hindi, "Farm laws that have been repealed should be brought back. I think this may get controversial. The laws in farmers' interest be brought back. Farmers should themselves demand this (to bring farm laws back) so that there is no hindrance to their prosperity.
"Farmers are a pillar of strength in India's progress. Only in some states, they had objected to farm laws. I appeal with folded hands that farm laws should be brought back in the interest of farmers."
In a post in Hindi along with the video, the Congress said, "The three black laws imposed on farmers should be brought back: BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has said this. More than 750 farmers of the country were martyred, only then did the Modi government wake up and these black laws were withdrawn."
Now BJP MPs are planning to bring back these laws, the Congress alleged.
"The Congress is with the farmers. These black laws will never return, no matter how hard Narendra Modi and his MPs try," the opposition party said on X.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also shared the video of Ranaut on X and said, "'All three farm laws should be brought back': BJP MP Kangana Ranaut. More than 750 farmers were martyred while protesting against the three black farmer laws. Efforts are being made to bring them back."
"We will never let that happen. Haryana will answer first," she said in an apparent reference to the assembly polls in Haryana.
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera also shared the video on X and said it was the BJP's "real thinking".
"How many times will you deceive the farmers, you two-faced people?" Khera said in a post in Hindi.
The three laws -- Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act -- were repealed in November 2021.
The farmers' protest started at the fag-end of November 2020 and ended after Parliament repealed the three laws. The legislations came into force in June 2020 and were repealed in November 2021.
“तीनों किसान क़ानून वापस लाये जाने चाहिए” : BJP MP कंगना रनौत
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) September 24, 2024
जिन तीन काले किसान विरोधी क़ानूनों की मुख़ालिफ़त करते 750 से ज़्यादा किसान शहीद हो गए
उनको दोबारा से लाने की कोशिश की जा रही है. हम ऐसा कभी नहीं होने देंगे
सबसे पहला जवाब हरियाणा देगा pic.twitter.com/kRAkRuE2cc
