3 Things Express Audio

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

Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a rally in UP’s Bareilly attacked Rahul Gandhi, saying he started his party’s campaign with Bharat Jodo Yatra that will end with a ‘Congress Dhoondho Yatra,’ suggesting that the party will get a severe drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections. Addressing a rally in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a new attack on Congress saying “it is a mureed (follower) of Pakistan.” In Shivamogga, Rahul Gandhi raked up the many allegations of sexual abuse against Prajwal Revanna and said, “PM Modi has asked for votes for a ‘mass rapist’.”

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs confirmed on Thursday that Janata Dal (Secular) leader Prajwal Revanna, who is at the centre of a sexual abuse case, travelled to Germany on a diplomatic passport and no political clearance was either sought from or issued by the MEA with respect to his travel to the country. Meanwhile, the SIT probing the allegations of sexual abuse against Prajwal has issued a lookout circular after he failed to appear before it officials following a notice of appearance served on Tuesday.

After around 100 schools across Delhi-NCR received hoax bomb threats by email on Wednesday, the Delhi government’s Directorate of Education (DoE) has issued an advisory asking schools to ensure timely checking of emails received on their official email ID. It added that “if anything unwanted is noticed,” the deputy director of education in the district or zone and the Delhi Police are to be informed immediately.

Global pharmaceutical manufacturer AstraZeneca has admitted that its Covid-19 vaccine, developed by researchers from the Oxford University, can cause a rare side effect of blood clotting and low platelet count after immunisation. In India, the same vaccine, called Covishield and manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute, has been administered through 175 crore doses. Reportedly, the company made this admission of a side effect, Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome (TTS), in court as it faces a lawsuit alleging severe harm and deaths caused by the vaccine.

Breaking days of silence as police crack down on campus protests over the war in Gaza, US President Joe Biden on Thursday said “destroying property and threatening people was not a peaceful protest” and asserted that it was “against the law.” In his first remarks on the ongoing student protests over the war in Gaza, Biden said the protests have put to the test the right to speech and the rule of law, adding that both must be upheld. “American people must have the right to be heard, but rule of law must be upheld,” he said in an address at the White House.

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

First, Indian Express’ Anonna Dutt joins us to talk about AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company that produced the Covid-19 vaccine - Covishield and its admission of the fact that its vaccine causes blood clots. She also shares the severity of the situation and whether or not it's a cause for concern. 

Next, Indian Express’ Anjali Marar talks to us about why the month of April was warmer than usual and what to expect from the upcoming months according to the India Meteorological Department. (8:16)

And finally, we talk about the BJP fielding Karan Bhushan Singh from Kaiserganj instead of father Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. (17:43)

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 2nd of May and here are today's headlines.


Intensifying the attack against the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said that the “partnership between Congress and Pakistan” has been “exposed” as leaders in Pakistan are “offering duas” for Rahul Gandhi to become India’s prime minister. While addressing an election rally in Gujarat, Modi said Pakistan “has been crying” as the Congress, which “only handed terror dossiers” to Pakistan, continues to lose ground in India. All 26 seats of Gujarat will go to poll on May 7 in the third phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024.

Meanwhile, in Shivamogga, Rahul Gandhi raked up the many allegations of sexual abuse against Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna and said, “PM Modi has asked for votes for a ‘mass rapist’.” Speaking of Revanna, the Special Investigation Team probing the allegations of sexual abuse against him has issued a lookout circular after he failed to appear before it officials following a notice of appearance served on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he sought seven days to appear before the SIT. The SIT also issued notices to his father H D Revanna, who has been named as accused based on the complaint of one of the women, on the same day.

The Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena has approved the removal of 223 contractual staffers at the Delhi Commission for Women, deeming their employment “irregular” and “illegal”. It is alleged that the former chairperson of the DCW, Swati Maliwal, had appointed the staffers without permission, going against the rules. Maliwal asked, quote, "If all the contract staff is removed, the Women’s Commission will be locked. Why are these people doing this? This institution has been built with blood and sweat. Instead of giving it staff and protection, you are destroying it from its roots?” Unquote.

A Mumbai school principal has been asked by the school management to resign, allegedly over her posts on social media platform X on the issue of Palestine and the Hamas-Israel conflict. Parveen Shaikh, who has been with the school for 12 years and became its principal 7 years ago, has refused to resign. She said, quote, “I live in democratic India; I hold the principle of freedom of speech in high regard as it is a cornerstone of democracy. It is unimaginable that my expression would provoke such a malicious response, furthering their biased agenda. I will not resign because I have given hundred per cent to the organisation,” Unquote.

Arguing that immigrants have made the United States stronger, President Joe Biden said that xenophobia from India, China, Russia and Japan has stalled their economic growth. Speaking at a fundraising event in Washington, he said, quote, “Why is China stalling so badly economically, why is Japan having trouble, why is Russia, why is India, because they are xenophobic. They don’t want immigrants. Immigrants are what makes us strong. One of the reasons why our economy is growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants,” Unquote.

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

First Indian Express’ Kiran Parashar and Liz Mathew tell us about the Karnataka sex abuse case, in which Janata Dal (Secular) MP and its Hassan candidate Prajwal Revanna is the main accused. They delve into the allegations, the timeline since the matter surfaced, and the statements made by the JDS’ alliance partner, the BJP, regarding the issue.

Next, Indian Express’ Apurva Vishwanath discusses the Delhi liquor policy case and outlines a common challenge that the defense side is facing in the matter (12:32).

And in the end, Indian Express’ Arnabjit Sur reports on the recent bomb threat received by nearly 100 schools in Delhi and the NCR region, which the police claim to be a hoax (20:12).

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 1st of May and here are today's headlines.

Around 100 schools in Delhi and the National Capital Region received a bomb threat email in the early hours today. The schools received the threats on their official email IDs around 4 am. Speaking to reporters, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Vinai Kumar Saxena, said that the Delhi Police has found out the origin of the threat emails and that an investigation is underway. He added, quote, “I want to assure the people of Delhi that Delhi Police is fully prepared and we will try to prevent any untoward incident from happening.” Unquote.

In other news, Anuj Thapan, one of the accused in the case related to firing outside actor Salman Khan’s Bandra home, has died by suicide in the lock-up of Mumbai Police’s crime branch. According to police officials, Thapan attempted to die by suicide at around 11am. “The incident took place in the bathroom of the police lock-up on the first floor,” the official said. Thapan, 32, was arrested on April 26 from Punjab by a team of Mumbai police crime branch.

India’s gross Goods and Services tax collections rose to a record-high level of Rs 2.10 lakh crore in April (for year-end sales in March), as per data released by the Finance Ministry today. Driven mainly by a rise in domestic transactions, the gross GST collections increased by 12.4 per cent in April. This is the highest level of GST collections recorded since the July 2017 of the indirect tax regime. The previous highest level registered under GST was Rs 1.87 lakh crore in April 2023, reflecting year-end sales of March 2023.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara today said there is no question of protecting anyone including Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna over an alleged sex scandal involving him and that action has been initiated in accordance with law by forming a Special Investigation Team. He was reacting to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on Tuesday wanting to know why the Congress government in Karnataka did not take any action against Prajwal Revanna. In the latest development in the sexual abuse case against Revanna, his father and party MLA H D Revanna, the SIT has issued notices to them. They have been asked to appear before SIT for probe.

In international news, dozens were reportedly arrested Tuesday after Columbia University called in police to end the pro-Palestinian occupation on the New York campus. The demonstrators had occupied Hamilton Hall more than 12 hours earlier, spreading their reach from an encampment on the grounds. Before officers entered the campus, the New York Police Department received a notice from Columbia authorising officers to take action, a law enforcement official told AP news agency.

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

First, Indian Express’ Anonna Dutt joins us to talk about why Hong Kong and Singapore withdrew products from MDH and Everest and how FSSAI has responded to it. 

Next, Indian Express’ Damini Nath talks to us about the voting process and the verdict that was recently given by the Supreme Court of India regarding the EVMs and VVPATs. (5:15)

And finally, we talk about  AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company that created the Covid-19 vaccine - Covishield and its admission of the fact that their vaccine causes series health issues. (12:12)

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