3 Things Express Audio

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 24th of April and here are today's headlines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi accused the Congress of stabbing Babasaheb Ambedkar in the back by promising to give reservations based on religion. Speaking at a rally in Madhya Pradesh, he said our Constitution bars reservation on the basis of religion, but the Congress promised it in their poll manifesto. Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said that PM Modi has “panicked after seeing after seeing our revolutionary manifesto”. He said the Congress manifesto aims to give back 90% Indians a part of Rs 16 lakh cr given to big businessmen as a loan waiver.

The Supreme Court today reserved judgment on a batch of petitions seeking 100 per cent cross-verification of vote count in electronic voting machines (EVMS) with voter verifiable paper audit trail paper slips. Earlier in the day, the court posed a set of queries to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on the functioning of EVMs and sought the presence of an ECI official in the court to answer them.

A day after the chairman of Indian Overseas Congress Sam Pitroda was on the receiving end over his comments on the US inheritance tax, he issued a clarification saying that his statements were twisted. He added that the comments had nothing to do with the Congress party or their manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The comments, however, faced the backlash of the BJP with their spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla saying that the “Congress want to grab ones hard earned tax payed resources”.

Day after the Supreme Court questioned the size of the public apology issued by Patanjali Ayurved over misleading advertisements, the firm issued another unconditional apology in newspapers on Wednesday — this time, more prominent. The apology mentioned non-compliance with the court's orders and directives and for errors in their advertisements. They expressed their commitment to avoiding such mistakes in the future and pledged to adhere to the court's instructions diligently and sincerely.

Iran and Pakistan called on the United Nations Security Council in a joint statement issued today to take action against Israel. The statement released by Pakistan's foreign ministry, read, quote, "Recognizing that the irresponsible act of the Israeli regime forces was a major escalation in an already volatile region, both sides called on the UN Security Council to prevent the Israeli regime from its adventurism in the region and its illegal acts attacking its neighbours...," This a three-day visit to the country by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at a time of heightened tensions in the Middle East.

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

First, Indian Express’ Manoj CG and Liz Mathew discuss Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s comments on the Congress party and the Muslim community. Manoj CG fact-checks the claims made by the Prime Minister, while Liz explains the significance of the regions where the comments were made and why they raise concern.

Next, Indian Express’ Mihir Vasavda details the challenges that wrestler Vinesh Phogat faced while trying to qualify for the Paris Olympics. (18:12)

And finally, we give a quick update about Avani Dias, the South Asia Bureau Chief for the Australian broadcasting firm ABC News, who claims that she was denied a visa extension by the Indian government because her reports "crossed a line." (27:18)

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 23rd of April and here are today's headlines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing a rally in Chhattisgarh, hit out at the Congress party again for “appeasement” and “vote bank” politics. He termed the opposition as a party that “divides the country on the  basis of religion.” He said the party skipped Ayodhya's Ram Mandir consecration ceremony because “they think they are bigger than Lord Ram”.

Amidst reports about added sugar content in baby food sold by Nestle in India, the Supreme Court today asked the Centre about action taken regarding “misrepresenting advertisements for things like foods for babies, children, and elderly” sold by Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) companies. The raised the issue while hearing a contempt of court case against Patanjali Ayurved for allegedly flouting its orders. The  bench clarified that it is a PIL and is in the larger interest of the consumer public to know which way they are going and how and why they get misled and how agencies are acting to prevent that misuse.

A Delhi court today extended the judicial custody of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislator K Kavitha till 7th of May 7 in the money-laundering case related to the excise policy. Kejriwal had been sent to Tihar Jail on April 1 after the court of Special Judge Kaveri Baweja sent him to judicial custody till April 15. His judicial custody was later extended till April 23. Meanwhile, Kavitha, a Telangana Member of the Legislative Council who has been under the scanner of central investigating agencies for almost two years, was arrested by the ED from Hyderabad on March 15.

The Bombay High Court today dismissed a suit challenging Syedna Muffadal Saifuddin’s position as the spiritual head of the Dawoodi Bohra community by his challenger Syedna Taher Fakhruddin. While pronouncing the verdict on Tuesday, Justice Patel clarified he has kept the verdict “as neutral as possible for personalities involved” as ‘feelings will run high’ and he has decided the issue “on proof and not faith”. After the verdict, the Dawoodi Bohra community issued a press release praising the “landmark judgement”.

As per the ‘State of the Climate in Asia 2023’ report, Asia faced the most disasters in the world. In total 79 events of extreme weather, climate, and water-related hazards in 2023 affected over nine million people in the region, directly killing over 2,000 people. The report released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said over 80 per cent of the reported hydrometeorological hazards in Asia were flood and storm events.

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

First, Indian Express’ Sukrita Baruah informs us about the ongoing tensions in Manipur and recounts the events of the state's first day of polling.

Next, Indian Express’ Amit Kamath discusses the achievement of 17-year-old Indian Grandmaster D. Gukesh, who has become the youngest ever to win the prestigious candidate tournament. This tournament is held to determine who will challenge the reigning World Chess Champion (12:10).

And in the end, discuss the Election Commission’s notice issued to the Shiv Sena (UBT) regarding its new theme song and examine Uddhav Thackeray's response to this development (23:48).

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 22nd of April and here are today's headlines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at a rally in Uttar Pradesh’s Aligarh today, said the lives of Muslim women have been secured with “Modi making a law against triple talaq”. Talking about the increase in Haj quota, he also mentioned that he requested the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia to increase the Haj quota for the “Muslim brothers and sisters”. The PM also accused the Congress and Samajwadi Party of practising “appeasement politics” and “never doing anything for the political, social and economic upliftment of Muslims”.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today wrote to Tihar Jail authorities alleging that he was not being administered insulin despite flagging his peaking sugar levels. He accused the prison authorities of lying over the issue under “political pressure”. Referring to newspaper reports, the AAP national convenor wrote he was “pained” that the prison authorities had made “false and misleading statements” regarding his health.

A division bench of the Calcutta High Court on Monday cancelled the illegal recruitment of 23,753 teachers and non-teaching staff by the 2016 School Service Commission , ordering them to return their salaries with interest. The court also ordered fresh recruitment against the posts within 15 days. Terming the verdict “illegal”, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee vowed to appeal against it. The bench observed that the OMR sheets of Group C, Group D, Class IX and X were manipulated in 2016, making all the recruitments illegal.

Congress President Mallikarjuna Kharge while speaking at The Indian Express Idea Exchange said that Narendra Modi is the first PM who exaggerates so much. Stating that INDIA alliance will come back with strong numbers and defeat the BJP, Kharge added that it’s not the Opposition but the people who want change. He said, quote, "The BJP’s nervousness is evident from the fact that its leaders are campaigning intensely in every gully compared to the past when they would hold just two or three meetings in a district. Modiji is nervous himself." Unquote.

D Gukesh, the 17-year-old from Chennai who was the second youngest player ever to compete at the prestigious Candidates tournament, has become the youngest ever winner of the event. It will also make him the youngest ever to compete at the World Chess Championship. This comes after his draw against Hikaru Nakamura in the final round of the Candidates chess tournament.  He became India’s youngest grandmaster ever at the age of 12 years, seven months, 17 days and overhauled the five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand as the country’s top ranked player for the first time after 36 years last year.

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

First, Indian Express’ Adrija Roychowdury tells us about India's first ever elections that happened over 72 years back. She also talks about how western media and publications described India's first experiment of democracy.
 
Next, Indian Express’ Jayprakash S. Naidu explains what happened in Bastar last week when 29 alleged Maoists were killed in an encounter by the security forces and how the timing of this encounter is of key importance. (14:30)
 
And finally, we discuss the Maldives' parliamentary elections and why they are of significance to India. (22:46)
 
Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Written and produced by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika Nanda
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar