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This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 14th of May and here are today's headlines.

The death toll after the collapse of a billboard in Mumbai’s Ghatkopar rose to 14 this morning. 74 people have been reported injured, among them, 44 are still hospitalized, with one person in critical condition. 31 individuals have been discharged so far. The billboard was located beside a petrol pump on the Eastern Express Highway and collapsed yesterday after gusty winds and season’s first spell of rainfall lashed the city. Most of the victims were either refuelling or seeking refuge from the rain when the disaster struck.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday today filed his nomination papers at the District Magistrate’s office in Varanasi for the Lok Sabha elections. The PM started his day by offering prayers at Dasaswamedh Ghat in the constituency, following which he visited the Kal Bhairav temple. The Varanasi seat will go to polls in the seventh and last phase of the Lok Sabha elections on 1st of June.

The Enforcement Directorate, probing the excise policy case, told the Delhi High Court today that the Aam Aadmi Party will be named as a co-accused in the case in its next prosecution complaint. The submission was made by the ED counsel while the High Court was hearing former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s bail petition in the money laundering case pertaining to the excise policy. Opposing Sisodia’s bail plea, the probe agency said concerted efforts are being made by the accused to delay trial in the liquor policy case.

The Supreme Court today refused to entertain a plea seeking to bar Prime Minister Narendra Modi from elections for allegedly making hate speeches and violating the Model Code of Conduct during campaigning. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and S C Sharma asked the petitioner to approach the authorities concerned for the redressal of the grievance. The petitioner withdrew the plea and the matter was dismissed as withdrawn.

The Supreme Court today reserved its order on the contempt notice issued to yoga guru Ramdev, his aide Balkrishna and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd in the misleading advertisements case. A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah noted that the counsel appearing for the firm has sought time to file an affidavit indicating the steps being taken to recall the advertisements of those products of Patanjali whose licences have been suspended. The bench said the affidavit has to be filed within three weeks.

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

First, Indian Express’ Uma Vishnu discusses the impact of Karnataka's Shakti scheme, which provides free bus rides for all women in the state.

Next, Indian Express’ Sukrita Baruah explains the impact of Assam's delimitation exercise on the constituencies of Dhubri and Barpeta, and examines how this issue is unfolding during the polls (11:30).

And in the end, we tell you why Madhavi Latha, the BJP candidate from Hyderabad, has been booked at the behest of the Election Commission of India (22:05).

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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 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