3 Things

First, Indian Express’ Jatin Anand tells us the reasons behind Delhi Congress president Arvinder Singh Lovely resigning from this post, and the concerns it raises for the party ahead of the polls.Next, Indian Express’ Vikas Pathak explains how Prime Minister Narendra Modi is currently reframing the slogan 'Abki baar 400 paar' and highlights the major trends for the party after the completion of two poll phases (14:12).And in the end, we give you a brief update on India's summoning of the Canadian Deputy High Commissioner following the raising of pro-Khalistan slogans at a Toronto event addressed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (24:18).Hosted by Shashank BhargavaProduced and written by Niharika NandaEdited 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 29th of April and here are today's headlines.The Congress in Madhya Pradesh received a setback today with its Indore candidate, Akshay Kanti Bam, withdrawing his nomination. BJP spokesperson Pankaj Chaturvedi confirmed the development to The Indian Express and said, quote, “The Congress candidate has withdrawn his nomination. This is the failure of Congress leadership. It’s a failure of their policies. Their vote bank politics, inheritance politics… has backfired. Congress karyakartas were already leaving, and now the leaders have joined.” Unquote. As the Karnataka Special Investigation Team launches a probe into allegations of sexual abuse by JD(S) MP and its Hassan candidate Prajwal Revanna, G Devaraje Gowda, a BJP leader told The Indian Express that he wrote an email and a letter to BJP state unit president BY Vijayendra as well as the central leadership on the allegations on 8th of December last year.Will an ex-Muslim continue to be governed by the Muslim personal law — the Shariat Act of 1937 — or by the secular laws of the country in matters of succession? The Supreme Court today agreed to consider the “important point” and issued notice on a writ petition filed by a woman from Kerala raising the question. The notice came from a bench on a petition filed by Safiya PM. In her plea, Safiya sought a “declaration that persons who do not want to be governed by the Muslim Personal Law must be allowed to be governed by the secular law of the country, viz, the Indian Succession Act, 1925 both in the case of intestate and testamentary succession”.In an interview to a leading national daily, Prime Minister Narendra Modi doubled down on his remarks against the Congress party over “appeasement” and “inheritance tax”. When asked about the Congress’s “polarisation” charge against the BJP, PM Modi said, quote “It is not polarisation to show that Congress has violated the Constitution and enacted laws providing reservation on the basis of religion. Our Constitution clearly prohibits reservations based on religion but the Congress govt in Karnataka reversed the law passed by BJP to provide reservation to OBCs and gave it to Muslims, classifying all Muslims as OBC.” unquote.When asked about the disappointment that the manifestos of the Congress and other parties of the INDIA bloc are completely silent on Article 370, Omar Abdullah told the Indian Express, "We do have friends who have talked about it — TMC, DMK, the Left. They have stuck their necks out for J&K and are against everything that happened on August 5, 2019. While the Congress is unable to find common cause with us on this particular issue, it is disappointing but I do understand. I understand that they have to trade off their commitment to J&K with the wider electoral arithmetic that they need to factor in." Unquote.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

Indian Express journalists Anonna Dutt and Shubhangi Khapre discuss the Nestle controversy involving high sugar content in baby products and the significance of Aurangabad in Maharashtra elections. The podcast also covers the call for shutdown in Nagaland, leading residents to get essential commodities from Assam.

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 26th of April and here are the top stories of the week.In the second phase of Lok Sabha elections today, voting took place in 89 seats across 12 states and UTs. By day's end, one-third of the total 543 Lok Sabha seats, including all seats in Kerala, Rajasthan, Manipur, and Tripura, and 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, had completed polling. In Outer Manipur, 13 Assembly segments participated in the second phase, while the remaining 15 had voted in the first phase alongside the Inner Manipur seat. Among the 89 seats, 9 are reserved for Scheduled Castes and 7 for Scheduled Tribes.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 on Wednesday 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 wants to grab one's hard earned tax paid resources' '.On Tuesday, a Delhi court extended the judicial custody of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) legislator K Kavitha till 7th of May in the money-laundering case related to the excise policy. Meanwhile, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections scheduled to be held today were postponed as the presiding officer was yet to be nominated. This comes after LG VK Saxena wrote to the municipal commissioner, saying that he does not “deem it appropriate to exercise his power as Administrator to appoint the Presiding Officer in absence of inputs from the Chief Minister.The National Investigation Agency on Thursday said they have arrested a man, a resident of the UK, in connection with the violence at the Indian High Commission in London during a protest on March 22 last year. The NIA spokesperson said that the accused, identified as Inderpal Singh Gaba, a resident of Hounslow, UK, has been arrested for carrying out unlawful activities during the protests. The probe revealed that the incidents in London on March 19 and 22 were part of a larger conspiracy to unleash vicious attacks on the Indian missions and its officials.D Gukesh, the 17-year-old from Chennai became the youngest ever winner of the prestigious Candidates tournament in Toronto on Monday. This also made him the youngest ever to compete at the World Chess Championship. All India Chess Federation (AICF) secretary Dev Patel on Thursday said the country will bid for the hosting rights of this year’s much-anticipated World Championship clash between Gukesh and defending champion Ding Liren of China.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

First, Indian Express’ Manoj CG and Kamal Saiyed inform us about how the BJP candidate from the Surat Lok Sabha constituency won unopposed, and the allegations made by the Congress and the BSP.Next, Indian Express’ Ritika Chopra discusses the Election Commission's unprecedented move of issuing notices to both the Congress and the BJP, rather than their candidates or star campaigners (04:50).And in the end, in response to Prime Minister Modi mentioning it in a recent speech, Indian Express’ Apurva Vishwanath discusses the efforts to provide reservations to all Muslims in Andhra Pradesh (10:30).Hosted, written and produced by Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar(In the episode image: BJP's Mukesh Dalal with Gujarat BJP president CR Paatil)

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)Hosted by Niharika NandaProduced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank BhargavaEdited 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)Hosted by Shashank BhargavaProduced and written by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika NandaEdited 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.