3 Things

The headlines this evening from The Indian Express.

How much has the BJP veered away from the Vajpayee style of governing? Could you really have called Vajpayee a moderate and LK Advani, a hardliner? And what can be learned from the sense of unity in the BJP? In this episode, Sandip talks to political scientist Dr Vinay Sitapati about his latest book, Jugalbandi: The BJP before Modi, in which he deals with these questions, and writes about the movement which led to Vajpayee and Advani coming to power.

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 16th of April and here are today's headlines.

Stating that the court will not let them “off the hook” at this stage, the Supreme Court today gave one week’s time to Yoga guru Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna to tender a public apology in a case against the company for publishing “misleading adverstisements”, claiming cure for some diseases and criticising the allopathy branch of medicines. The bench said, quote, "You are doing good work but you can’t degrade allopathy." Unquote.

At least six people, including two minors, have drowned while two others are under treatment after a boat they were taking to cross the river Jhelum this morning capsized. The children were on their way to school. Water levels in the Jhelum have risen post incessant rains over the last three days. While it is unclear how many children are still missing, two are admitted at Srinagar’s SMHS hospital.

The two suspects, arrested from Gujarat in connection with the shooting outside actor Salman Khan’s Bandra residence on Sunday, have been remanded to police custody till 25th of April. Identified as Vicky Gupta and Sagar Pal, the two men were arrested from Bhuj in Gujarat where they had escaped after the incident. They belong to Champaran in Bihar.

Cricketer Hardik Pandya’s comeback to the Indian team for the T20 world cup might well depend on how well and how often he bowls in the remainder of the IPL. In a meeting between India head coach Rahul Dravid, chairman of the selection committee Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai last week, it’s understood that a decision was taken that Hardik has to bowl regularly if he wants to make a comeback. The Indian Express understands that the major part of the discussion in the two-hour meeting was about the seam bowling all-rounder which the team is looking for in the USA and West Indies, which will host the world cup.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has postponed his visit to India this week in view of the evolving situation in West Asia following escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran. The senior Biden administration official was scheduled to hold wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on the progress in implementation of the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies besides other issues. It was the second time this year that Sullivan has postponed his trip to India.

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

First, we talk to Indian Express’ Mohamed Thaver, about why the Anti Corruption Bureaus have been left toothless after the amendments made to the Prevention of Corruption Act.

Second, Indian Express' Divya A joins us to talk about the Lalit Kala Akademi and why the Ministry of Culture has curtailed the powers of the Akademi's Chairman, V Nagdas. (11:51)

Lastly, we discuss the details of the issues PM Modi addressed in his recent interview. (21:40)

Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Written and Produced 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 15th of April and here are today's headlines.

A Delhi Court today extended Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s judicial custody till 23rd of April in connection with the excise policy case. The Enforcement Directorate had sought a 14-day extension of the Delhi CM’s custody. He will now be produced in court with co-accused K Kavitha on the next date. In more news, the Supreme Court today sought the ED’s response in a plea filed by Kejriwal against his arrest in the same case. The court asked for the response to be filed on or before 24th of April and a rejoinder by 27th of April. The court will hear the matter on 29th of April 29.

One of the suspects allegedly involved in shooting outside actor Salman Khan’s residence in Mumbai on Sunday was arrested in a case of motorbike theft for the first time in 2020 and sent to Tihar jail. Vishal alias Kalu, associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, was one of the two suspects on a motorcycle who fired five rounds at Salman’s residence. He is allegedly working for gangster Rohit Godara and along with his two associates, reportedly killed a Gurgaon-based bookie on 2nd of March.

Wholesale inflation in the country rose marginally to 0.53 per cent in March compared to 0.20 per cent in the preceding month due to increase in prices of vegetables, potato, onion and crude oil. The Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation was in the negative zone from April to October and had turned positive in November at 0.26 per cent. The inflation in March 2023 was 1.41 per cent.

Iran will permit Indian authorities to meet with the 17 Indian crew members onboard the Portuguese-flagged cargo vessel MSC Aries, seized by the Iranian military near the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s ministry of foreign affairs. This came during the telephonic call between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Sunday in the aftermath of Iran’s attack on Israel. During the call, Jaishankar urged for the release of the Indians aboard the ship. The seizure of the ‘MSC Aries’ by the Special Naval Forces of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps reportedly occurred due to the vessel’s alleged connections with Israel.

The India Meteorological Department today said the rainfall is likely to be 106 per cent of normal this monsoon season. The cumulative rainfall is estimated at 106 per cent of the long-period average of 87 cm, according to IMD. IMD also said that above-normal rainfall is expected in most parts of India, except in some regions of northwest, east and northeastern states.

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

With four days remaining until the Lok Sabha polls begin, we are joined by The Indian Express’ Chief of National Political Bureau Manoj CG to discuss the Congress party’s preparations for the polls, the challenges it faces, and the reasons behind its delay in announcing a candidate from Amethi.

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 12th of April and here are the top stories of the week.

The Delhi High Court dismissed a plea by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal challenging his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy scam on Tuesday. Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud the next day said he will look “immediately” into the request to take up Kejriwal’s plea challenging his ED arrest. Meanwhile, the Central Bureau of Investigation on Thursday arrested Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha, who is accused of allegedly paying Rs 100 crore to Aam Aadmi Party leaders in return for liquor licences in the Capital.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will not accept the “unconditional and unqualified” apology tendered by Yoga guru Baba Ramdev and Patanjali Ayurved Managing Director Acharya Balkrishna. The apology was tendered in response to the contempt of court notices issued by the court in a case in which they had been sued by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) for allegedly publishing misleading advertisements, claiming cure for some diseases and criticising the allopathy branch of medicines.

A 25-year-old Indian student named Mohammed Abdul Arfath, who went missing last month, has been found dead in Cleveland, Ohio late on Monday, weeks after the Indian Consulate in the US said it was working with law enforcement authorities to find him. The Consulate General of India in New York expressed deepest condolences to Arfath’s family in a poston X. It added that it was in touch with local agencies to ensure a thorough investigation into the student’s death.

A total solar eclipse, which is a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event for most people, swept across North America Monday night. The eclipse began at 9.13 PM IST on Monday, April 8 and continued till 2.22 AM IST on Tuesday, April 9. Although Indians were not able to watch the eclipse this time, they will be able to view the next one on March 20, 2034.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has raised the issue of the killing of a Khalistani Sikh separatist on the country’s soil last year and asserted that his government stood up to defend the rights and freedoms of all Canadians. Trudeau, who was testifying at a high-profile public inquiry looking into foreign interference in Canada’s electoral process on Wednesday, also alleged that the previous government was “cosy” with the Indian government.

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

First, Indian Express’ Anonna Dutt discusses the new line of diabetes and weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy that have taken the world by storm. She explains how these drugs work, the extent to which they actually reduce weight, and their potential side effects.

Next, Indian Express’ Damini Nath informs us about the concerns raised regarding VVPATs and how the Election Commission responded to them (11:15).

Lastly, Indian Express’ Apurva Vishwanath tells us about BRS MLA K Kavitha, currently lodged in Tihar Jail, being arrested by the CBI (17:10).

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 11th of April and here are today's headlines.

The Central Bureau of Investigation today arrested Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha, who is accused of allegedly paying Rs 100 crore to Aam Aadmi Party leaders in return for liquor licences in the Capital. She is currently under the Enforcement Directorate’s custody at Tihar jail over the matter. This comes days after a Delhi court had given permission to the central probe agency to interrogate her. She was arrested from her Banjara Hills residence in Hyderabad on 15th of March.

Addressing an election rally in Uttarakhand, Prime Minister Narendra today sought to draw a contrast between his “strong government”, which he said brought safety and security to the country, and previous “weak and unstable” governments. Targeting the Congress, he said that for the party’s leaders, their families always came first. He also repeated his criticism of the Opposition party for declining the invitation for the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Apple has sent a fresh round of threat notifications to some of its users in India, along with 91 other countries. It has warned them that their iPhone could have been potentially attacked by “mercenary spyware,” including the Israeli NSO Group’s controversial Pegasus malware. Last October, it had sent a similar notification to Opposition leaders across parties warning of a “potential state-sponsored spyware attack” on their iPhones. After pressure from the government, the company had later clarified that it “does not attribute the threat notifications to any specific state-sponsored attacker”.

More than 6,000 Indian workers will arrive in Israel during April and May to help the country’s construction sector meet a labour shortage post the Israel-Hamas conflict. They will be will be brought to Israel on “air shuttle” following a joint decision by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), finance ministry and the construction and housing ministry on subsidising charter flights. The construction industry of Israel employs workers in specific fields where there is a lack of Israeli workers.

Eleven men and one woman, all said to be Indian nationals, have been arrested by the UK’s immigration authorities in a series of raids on suspicion of being in breach of their visa conditions and working illegally at a bedding and cake factory. Meanwhile, the two businesses could now face substantial fines if it is established they employed illegal workers at their factories and failed to conduct relevant pre-employment checks. In February this year, the Home Office tripled fines for employers who allow illegal migrants to work for them.

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

First, we talk to Indian Express’ Vikas Pathak about the BJP's plan to invite foreign political parties from across the globe to witness the scale of the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and to understand the party’s campaign strategies.

Second, Indian Express' Amrita Nayak Dutta joins us to talk about the infrastructural upgrades that are happening in the Andaman and Nicobar islands to make them a military base. (12:56)

Lastly, we talk about another setback that the Aam Aadmi Party faced - the resignation of MLA and Cabinet Minister Raaj Kumar Anand. (20:13)

Hosted by Niharika Nanda
Written and Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika Nanda
Edited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar