'Satta Bazaar' turns its attention to UPA Govt's trust vote

Mumbai, Jul 12 (UNI) The financial captial of the country which is also famous for its gambling dens (satta bazaar), has found a new subject to gamble -- the survival of the UPA Government at the Centre.

The 'satta bazaar', which accepts bets on anything ranging from the date of the arrival of rains in the city to cricket matches, is now accepting bets on whether the Central Government will survive the trust vote after the Left Front withdrew its support following differences on the Indo-US nuclear deal.

At the moment, according to satta bazaar figures, the fall of the government seems to be the favourite. So a person betting a rupee on the fall of the government, will get only 58 paise in return. On the contrary, if the government passes the trust vote, that person will get one rupee and 17 paise in return.

The UPA Government will be seeking a trust vote in the Parliament on July 22, and it needs the support of 272 members in the 543-member House to win the trust vote.

According to one of the gamblers, in the Left citadel of Kolkata, in the last two days bets worth Rs 250 crore had been accepted and now they have turned their attention to Mumbai satta bazaar, where it is expected to touch an astronomical figure of Rs 2.5-3.0 lakh crore.

The present running rate in Mumbai is one rupee if the UPA Government wins the trust vote with exactly 272 seats. If the government survives, the bookie will get one rupee and 17 paise. In another scenario, if the government wins the trust vote with 273 seats, then the bookie will get back one rupee and 32 paise. But, if the government loses by one vote, then the bookie will get back only 58 paise.

Senior Police Inspector R Joshi, attached to Social Services Branch, said they are unaware of such happenings. If they come across any complaint or find out for themselves, they would take action, as this is a non-cognizable offence and punishable under the Indian Gambling Act.

Recently, during the just-concluded Indian Premier League Twenty20 matches, over a dozen people were arrested from Versova, a western suburb,and Kalbadevi in the city for placing bets on the matches.

UNI AAA/GS SSS AE AS2028