3 Things Express Audio

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 8th of May and here are today's headlines.

Fresh remarks by Indian Overseas Congress chairman Sam Pitroda, where he seeks to emphasise the diversity of India, prompted a sharp reaction from the Prime Minister as well as BJP chief ministers from the Northeast. In an interview to The Statesman, Pitroda said, quote, “People in the East look Chinese, people on West look like Arab, people on North like, maybe, White, and people in the South look like African.” Unquote. At a rally on Wednesday, Modi referred to the remarks along with Rahul Gandhi and said, quote, “Shehzada will have to answer. The nation and Modi will not tolerate insulting our citizens on the basis of skin colour.” Unquote.

The Civil Aviation ministry today sought a report from Air India Express on cancellation of flights after a section of cabin crew reported sick evidently to protest against changes in the human resources policy. The ministry has asked the Tata-group airline to resolve issues promptly. The ministry has further advised the airline to ensure facilities to passengers as per DGCA norms. Around 80 Air India Express flights have been disrupted, including cancellations and long delays, due to the crew shortage since Tuesday night as over 200 cabin crew called in sick.

The judicial custody of JD(S) leader and former Karnataka Minister HD Revanna, who was arrested on May 4 by Special Investigation Team (SIT) in a kidnapping case, was extended till 14th of May. A sexual abuse case was registered against Revanna and his son and Hassan MP Prajwal on 28th of April at Holenarsipur in Hassan district.
Explicit videos of alleged sexual abuse by Prajwal had gone viral days before the April 26 polling in parts of Karnataka. The state government formed the SIT soon after, and multiple cases were registered against the MP. To encourage more victims to come forward, the SIT launched a helpline to provide protection or legal assistance to victims, by keeping their identities confidential.

Amidst the diplomatic strain in India-Canada relations, India’s Canadian envoy has warned that the Sikh separatist groups in Canada were crossing “a big red line” that New Delhi sees as a matter of national security and of the country’s territorial integrity. Indian High Commissioner to Canada Sanjay Kumar Verma said, quote, “Indians will decide the fate of India, not the foreigners."Unquote. Verma told the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, a prominent think-tank that relations between India and Canada are positive overall despite “a lot of noise”.

Washington had halted a shipment of powerful bombs that Israel could have potentially used in a full-scale assault on Rafah. A senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington had carefully reviewed the delivery of weapons that might be used in Rafah, and as a result paused a shipment consisting of 1,800 2,000-lb bombs and 1,700 500-lb bombs. This would be the first such delay since the Biden administration offered its "ironclad" support to Israel after Hamas' Oct. 7 attack. The White House and Pentagon declined to comment.

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

First, Indian Express’ Kiran Parashar brings us a ground report from the Hassan constituency, where over the past 10 days, survivors of the alleged sexual assault case involving JDS leader and MP Prajwal Revanna have had to flee their homes.

Next, Indian Express’ Parthasarthi Biswas tells us about the Centre lifting the export ban on onions ahead of the polls in Maharashtra, and why farmers in the state are expressing discontentment over this move (11:46).

And finally, Indian Express’ Abhishek Angad provides us with the details of the latest raids conducted by the Enforcement Directorate in Jharkhand and how they have led to political mudslinging between the Congress and the BJP (20:35).

Hosted by Shashank Bhargava
Produced and written by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika Nanda
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 7th of May and here are today's headlines.

The third phase of the Lok Sabha elections is underway today with voters in 93 parliamentary constituencies across 11 states and Union Territories casting their ballot to elect the new government. The state of Gujarat and the union territories of Goa, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu will complete polling in a single phase on Tuesday. Among the other constituencies voting in the third phase are four in Assam, five in Bihar, seven in Chhattisgarh, eight in Madhya Pradesh, 11 in Maharashtra, 10 in Uttar Pradesh and four in West Bengal.

The Supreme Court today said that if it grants interim bail to Arvind Kejriwal, he cannot function as the chief minister as it will have “cascading effect” on other issues. The court noted, quoted, “We are on the issue of propriety today, not on legality. We do not want anything to affect the functioning of the government," Unquote. Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's judicial custody in the excise policy corruption case has been extended until 15th of May.

In his first-ever comments on the sexual assault allegations against now-suspended JD(S) leader Prajwal Revanna, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that there was “zero tolerance” for such people. During an interview with a national TV channels, he also hit out at the Congress party, questioning the timing of the release of the videos, during an interview with TV channel Times Now. He questioned, quote, “...if it happened in Karnataka, then the Karnataka government is responsible to take action,” Unquote.

The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Jharkhand Congress Minister Alamgir Alam’s personal secretary Sanjiv Lal and the officer’s domestic help. This follows raids conducted at various premises yesterday which led to the seizure of around Rs 34.50 crore in cash. Hours later, a Special Court in Ranchi remanded Lal and his house help to seven-day ED custody, after the agency submitted that names of senior bureaucrats and politicians have emerged. The agency also alleged that “officials from top to bottom” of Rural Development Department were involved in a money laundering nexus.

The Israeli military said it had established “operational control” over the Gaza side of the Rafah crossing in the southern Gaza Strip overnight Monday into Tuesday. Footage broadcast on Israeli media showed an Israeli flag flying on the Gaza side of the crossing, though the Israeli army refused to comment on the flag. On Monday night, the Israeli military said it was carrying out “targeted strikes” in eastern Rafah. It said 20 Hamas militants were killed in the operation and it discovered three tunnel shafts. An Israeli army official said the vast majority of people located in the evacuation zone have left.

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

First, Indian Express’ Aditi Raja joins us to talk about the Tribal belt of Gujarat that cast its votes yesterday for the Lok Sabha elections and the challenges that they have been facing.

Next, Indian Express’ Nihal Koshie talks to us about the BJP fielding Karan Bhushan Singh from the Kaiserganj seat instead of father and former President of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. (13:02)

And in the end, we talk about the Election Commission of India issuing an advisory for all the parties to remove all the deepfake content, audios and videos from their social media pages which have been used as a part of the election campaigns. (20:13)

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 6th of May and here are today's headlines.

Exuding confidence that the BJP would form the government in Odisha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government’s “expiry date” was 4th of June– the day the results come out. Addressing a rally in Berhampur parliamentary constituency, Modi said, quote, “Today is May 6. By June 6, a BJP chief minister will be nominated and on June 10, an oath-taking ceremony will be held. Write it down. I have come here to welcome you to the BJP government’s oath-taking ceremony. The double engine government will come to Odisha for the first time,” unquote. Odisha Assembly elections will be held simultaneously with Lok Sabha polls.

A day ahead of polling in all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, 16 schools in Ahmedabad received bomb threat emails today. According to JCP (Crime Branch) Sharad Singhal, 12 schools in Ahmedabad city and four in Ahmedabad rural jurisdiction received the threat emails around 6 am. The emails were received from a Russian domain name ‘mail.ru’. He further stated that combing operations were undertaken in all the schools and “nothing was found”, terming the threats to be “hoax”.

National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah today warned about Pakistan being a nuclear power in response to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s comment on people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir wanting to merge with India. Abdullah said, quote, “If the defence minister is saying it then go ahead. Who are we to stop? But remember, they (Pakistan) are also not wearing bangles. It has atom bombs, and unfortunately, that atom bomb will fall on us." Unquote. Reportedly, Rajnath on Sunday stated that India won’t have to capture PoK with force because “its people, on their own, would want to be part of the country after seeing the development in Kashmir”.

The Bombay High Court today granted temporary bail of two months, on health grounds, to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, arrested in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate. Goyal was arrested by the central agency in September last year and had approached the high court after a special court denied his bail plea. The court also asked Goyal to surrender his passport and directed him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with sureties.

The third phase of the Lok Sabha elections will be held on 7th of May with voters in 94 parliamentary constituencies across 12 states and Union Territories casting their ballot to elect the new government. By tomorrow evening, over 280 constituencies will have gone to polls, meaning that more than half of the total seats in Lok Sabha will have been decided. That leaves polling in 263 constituencies in the four remaining phases. The state of Gujarat and the union territories of Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu will complete polling in a single phase on Tuesday.

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

First, Indian Express’ Maulshree Seth tells us why Rahul Gandhi decided to contest from Raebareli instead of Amethi, and why Priyanka Gandhi chose not to make her electoral debut in these polls.

Next, Indian Express’ Mohamed Thaver informs us about the incident of firing outside Salman Khan's residence and the key suspects in the case (13:35).

Lastly, we provide you with the details of the latest terror attack in Jammu's Poonch district (22:40).

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