3 Things Express Audio

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.
It’s the 25th of April and here are today's headlines.

In the second phase of voting for the Lok Sabha elections tomorrow, 89 seats across 12 states and UTs will go to polls. By the end of the day, a third of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats — including all the seats in Kerala, Rajasthan, Manipur and Tripura, and 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka — will have completed polling. In Outer Manipur, 13 Assembly segments are voting in the second phase; the remaining 15 had voted in the first phase along with the Inner Manipur seat. Of the 89 seats, 9 and 7 are reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, respectively.

In an unprecedented move, the Election Commission of India issued notices to political parties, seeking responses to alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct by their star campaigners. On Thursday, the poll panel wrote to BJP President J P Nadda regarding complaints about Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge concerning complaints related both to him and party leader Rahul Gandhi.

At least six persons died and over a dozen people were injured in a fire that broke out in a hotel in Patna today. While more than 40 people have been rescued, the injured were admitted to Patna Medical College and Hospital. The incident took place at around 10.45 am when an LPG cylinder at the hotel kitchen caught fire during cooking. While some people escaped the blaze by taking the staircase and jumping from the windows of the first floor, several others were engulfed in the fire that spread quickly because of strong wind.

Maharashtra cyber cell summoned actor Tamannaah Bhatia in connection with the alleged promotion of the viewing of Indian Premier League matches on a subsidiary app of the Mahadev online gaming and betting application. The actor has been asked to appear before the Maharashtra cyber personnel on the 29th of April. Bhatia has been summoned by the Maharashtra cyber cell for allegedly promoting the viewing of the IPL matches on the Fairplay betting app. The Maharashtra cyber cell has already recorded the statements of singer Badshah and the managers of actors Sanjay Dutt and Jacqueline Fernandez in the case.

The US Supreme Court will decide on the power of the presidency in arguments over Donald Trump's bid for immunity from prosecution for his efforts to overturn his 2020 election defeat. The justices will hear Trump's appeal after lower courts rejected his request to be shielded from four election-related criminal charges on the grounds that he was serving as president when he took the actions that led to the indictment obtained by Special Counsel Jack Smith. Trump is the first former U.S. president to be criminally prosecuted.

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

First, Indian Express’ Apurva Vishwanath joins us to talk about the petition that was filed by the Indian Medical Association against Patanjali, claiming that their advertisements violated the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act.

Next, Indian Express’ Anonna Dutt talks to us about Blue Origin, a private space company owned by Jeff Bezos, giving people a chance to experience space travel. (9:00)

And finally, we talk about Sam Pitroda's comments on the US's inheritance tax and what reactions it got from the BJP. (14:32)

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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 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)

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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 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