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This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 13th of May and here are today's headlines.

The fourth phase of the Lok Sabha election is underway today in 96 constituencies across nine states and a Union Territory (Jammu and Kashmir). Polling is being held in all the 17 Lok Sabha seats in Telangana, all 25 in Andhra Pradesh, 13 in Uttar Pradesh, five in Bihar, four in Jharkhand, eight in Madhya Pradesh, 11 in Maharashtra, four in Odisha, eight in West Bengal and one in J-K (Srinagar LS constituency). 175 Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh are also going to polls. Additionally, 28 assembly seats of Odisha are also witnessing polls in this phase.

The AIMIM lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of India after a video emerged of BJP’s Lok Sabha candidate for Hyderabad, K Madhavi Latha, at a polling booth, checking the identity documents of burqa-clad women and asking them to lift their veil. Latha also warned polling officials to allow voting only after properly checking ID cards. She later claimed that there were discrepancies in the voter list and that the names of several voters were missing. The Hyderabad Collector has stated that a case has been filed against Latha at the Malakpet Police Station.

The Supreme Court today fixed 17th of May as the date to hear Hemant Soren’s petition challenging his arrest on money laundering charges in a land scam-related case. The former Jharkhand chief minister referred to the SC order granting interim bail until June 1 to DElhi Chief Minister Kejriwal, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on money laundering charges in connection with the Delhi excise policy case so that he could campaign for the Lok Sabha elections.

The Delhi Police today said AAP Rajya Sabha member Swati Maliwal made two calls to the Police Control Room alleging assault at the Chief Minister’s house in Civil Lines.
DCP (North) Manoj Meena said, quote, “Swati Maliwal called the PCR at 9.34 am stating that she has been attacked at CM House. She came to the Civil Lines Police Station and left without giving a complaint. She said she would file a complaint later.” Maliwal could not be contacted despite repeated attempts. Two daily diary entries have been made regarding the PCR call.

In a video that went viral today during the simultaneous Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly polling in Andhra Pradesh, YSR Congress MLA A Sivakumar was seen attacking a voter. The incident took place in the southern state’s Guntur district as Sivakumar reportedly tried to cut ahead in line. The brawl broke out when a voter standing in line for polling at a booth in Tenali, Guntur objected to Sivakumar cutting the queue. A large crowd gathered as the MLA repeatedly slapped the voter, who is also seen attacking the YSRCP leader. The Andhra Pradesh unit of the BJP criticised the incident on social media.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, Indian Express’ Apurva Vishwanath joins us to talk about Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal getting a bail. After his bail plea was denied multiple times, the Supreme Court finally granted him bail. Apurva talks about how it all unfolded. 

Next, Indian Express’ Naveed Iqbal talks to us about why the Kargil unit of the National Conference resigned collectively, along with sharing insights about the political climate in Jammu and Kashmir as it moves towards its first Parliamentary elections post the revocation of article 370. (12:00)

And in the end, Indian Express' Avaneesh Mishra joins us to talk about the increasing frequency of forest fires in Uttarakhand and why it is happening. (20:33)

Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Produced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 10th of May and here are the top stories of the week.


The third phase of the Lok Sabha elections was held on Tuesday in 93 parliamentary constituencies across 11 states and Union Territories. The voting percentage edged closer to the 2019 figure for these corresponding seats, with Election Commission estimates at 10 pm Wednesday showing a 2024 turnout of 65.68% against 67.33% last time — a dip of 1.65 percentage points. This comes after the first two phases of the elections saw turnout dipping by just under 4 percentage points and 3 percentage points, respectively, compared to 2019.

Sam Pitroda, one of the closest associates of the Gandhi family, stepped down as chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress on Wednesday after his politically incorrect remarks to underline India’s diversity triggered a firestorm. It drew sharp reactions from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP’s chief ministers in the Northeast. Emphasising the diversity of India, Pitroda in an interview to The Statesman, stated, quote “People in the East look like the Chinese, people in the West look like the Arabs, people in the North look like, maybe, White, and people in the South look like Africans,” adding, “It does not matter. All of us are brothers and sisters.” Unquote.

Vehemently opposing granting any interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to campaign in the Lok Sabha elections, the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday told the Supreme Court that “any special concession” to him “would.. amount to anathema to the rule of law and equality”. This follows the Supreme Court's Wednesday deliberation that it “may” pass an order on Friday on whether or not to grant interim bail to Kejriwal, who has been arrested by the ED in connection with the excise policy case.

As flight disruptions due to cabin crew shortage continued on Thursday, Air India Express has agreed to withdraw termination letters issued to over 25 members. The protesting crew members, meanwhile, ended their strike as the airline management also agreed to look into their issues, as per sources. The decisions come after a conciliation meeting between the cabin crew representatives and the airline representatives at the Office of the Chief Labour Commissioner (Central) in New Delhi on the same day. Around 25 senior cabin crew members were sacked by the airline following the mass sick leave by over a hundred senior cabin crew on Wednesday.

President Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he would not supply offensive weapons that Israel could use to launch an all-out assault on Rafah over concern for the well-being of the more than 1 million civilians sheltering there. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization says it has only three days of fuel for its medical operations in southern Gaza, with shortages already forcing one of three remaining hospitals in the city of Rafah to shut down. The Rafah border crossing with Egypt has been closed since Israel’s military took control of the Palestinian side early Tuesday, blocking the entry of desperately needed humanitarian aid. The U.N. says northern Gaza is already in a state of “full-blown famine.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, veteran journalist and contributing editor to The Indian Express, Neerja Chowdhury, takes stock of the current Lok Sabha elections.

Next, The Indian Express’ Jatin Anand discusses Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommending a probe by the National Investigation Agency against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for allegedly receiving political funding for the AAP from the banned extremist organisation Sikhs for Justice (20:08).

Finally, we provide the latest update on the case involving West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose. Last week, he was accused by a contractual employee of the Raj Bhavan of molesting her (27:44).

Hosted, written and produced by Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 9th of May and here are today's headlines.

A day after announcing that he would back the Opposition Congress against the BJP government in Haryana, Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) leader Dushyant Chautala announced today that he has written to Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya seeking a floor test in the Assembly. The Congress followed suit by seeking an appointment with the governor on May 10 to “present a memorandum regarding the present political situation in the state”. Meanwhile, Congress Legislature Party leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda replied to Chautala’s statement, quote “All our 30 MLAs are intact, but the issue is that his [Dushyant’s] MLAs are running here and there. First, he should analyse if he has all his MLAs intact…it would have been better if Dushyant had paraded all his MLAs in front of the governor. Unquote.

As Air India Express faces cancellation of 74 of its flights owing to an ongoing protest by a section of its cabin crew, Air India has stepped in to aid passengers facing disruptions, stating that it will run flights on 20 of its subsidiary’s routes. The airline released in a press release, quote, “We will be operating 283 flights today. We have mobilised all resources and Air India will support us by operating on 20 of our routes. However, 85 of our flights are cancelled and we urge our guests booked to fly with us to check if their flight is affected by the disruption before heading to the airport,” Unquote.

The Enforcement Directorate filed an affidavit in Supreme Court opposing interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today. 'Right to campaign in polls is neither fundamental nor constitutional,' ED told the Supreme Court and also said that no political leader was ever granted interim bail for his own campaigning if in custody. Earlier today the Supreme Court said that it may pass an order on Friday on whether or not to grant interim bail to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the excise policy scam case.

A 26-year-old Indian student has been reported missing in Chicago since May 2, India’s mission in the US city. It is the latest case in the country as the community grapples with a string of such incidents involving students. Rupesh Chandra Chintakindi has been missing from the 4300 block of N. Sheridan Rd, the Chicago Police said in a statement. The Consulate General of India in Chicago said it was in touch with the police and Indian diaspora to locate/reestablish contact with Rupesh.

Two Indian-origin brothers wanted in connection with the murder of a 22-year-old MTech student from India have been arrested by Australian police. Abhijeet and Robin Gartan were arrested in the New South Wales country town of Goulburn police are preparing to extradite them to Victoria reportedly. The brothers were on the run since the early hours of Sunday after Navjeet Sandhu from Noble Park was killed and a 30-year-old man, also from Noble Park, was injured at an Ormond home in Melbourne’s southeast.

This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, Indian Express’ Deeptiman Tiwary joins us to talk about the views and opinions of people from Bihar on the Lok Sabha elections of 2024, the challenges that they face and who they will be voting for. 

Next, Indian Express’ Sohini Ghosh talks to us about the new verdict given by the Gujarat High Court regarding the murder case of RTI activist Amit Jethwa which acquits the formerly convicted Dinu Solanki and six others. (14:22)

And in the end, we talk about a recent controversy over Sam Pitroda's comments followed by his resignation from the position of the Chairman of the Indian Overseas Congress. (26:10)

Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Produced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank Bhargava
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar