The Catch Up: 21 February

This is the Catchup on 3 Things by The Indian Express and I'm Ichha Sharma.
Today is the 21st of February and here are the headlines.

In a major news from the capital, first-time MLA Rekha Gupta was sworn in as Delhi’s new Chief Minister on Thursday, along with her Council of Ministers, at a grand ceremony held at Ramlila Maidan. This marks the Bharatiya Janata Party’s return to power in the capital after a gap of 27 years. Besides Gupta, six newly elected MLAs were also administered the oath as ministers. The event witnessed the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, senior BJP leaders, and allies from the NDA. The newly formed Council of Ministers, under Gupta’s leadership, is held its first meeting at the Delhi Secretariat. Among the key proposals that were discussed is the implementation of the Mahila Samriddhi Yojna, which will provide eligible women with a monthly allowance of ₹2,500.

In another major development this week, the Supreme Court granted podcaster Ranveer Allahbadia interim protection from arrest over alleged objectionable comments on his YouTube show, "India’s Got Latent." However, the court condemned his language, describing it as perverse and shameful. Justice Surya Kant criticized Allahbadia's choice of words, saying they would embarrass parents, brothers, sisters, and society at large. He expressed disgust, asking what other standard of obscenity would apply in this country. Allahbadia’s lawyer was reprimanded for defending the program's language, while the court made strong remarks on the perverted content.

Moving on to another major story, with many Nepali students who were asked to leave the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology University campus in the aftermath of the suicide of an engineering student yet to return to their hostels. The Indian Express has learnt that senior Nepal embassy officials have raised concerns over their safety and security. Two senior officials from the Nepal embassy in Delhi are in Bhubaneswar to hold discussions with Odisha government representatives over the death of a 20-year-old engineering student at Odisha’s KIIT and the safety of protesting Nepali students. Lamsal, who is from Nepal’s Kathmandu, died on campus Sunday evening, sparking a standoff between Nepali students and the university administration.

In another news that made headlines this week, the National Capital Region woke up to a 4.0 earthquake. The National Centre for Seismology stated that strong tremors were felt in Delhi and its surrounding areas early morning with the epicenter being the Jheel Park area of Dhaula Kuan. According to the NCS, the earthquake originated just 5 km below the Earth’s surface, which tends to cause more damage than tremors originating deep below the surface.

On the global front, amid US President Donald Trump’s onslaught on illegal immigration, several deportees, including Indians, have been sent to a hotel in Panama, where they are being held till they can be repatriated to their origin countries. As many as 299 migrants, belonging to countries like India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, China, and Iran, among others, were sent to Panama last week. Some of these have been shifted to a remote facility near the Darien jungle. The Indian Embassy in Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica said on Thursday that they have gained “consular access” to the group of Indians sent to Panama.

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