3 Things

The headlines this evening from the Indian Express.

First, Indian Express’ Asad Rehman provides the latest update on the Gyanvapi mosque dispute, highlighting the Allahabad High Court's dismissal of five petitions presented by the Uttar Pradesh Sunni Central Waqf Board and the Gyanvapi mosque committee.

Next, Indian Express’ Jay Mazoomdar delves into the details of an environmental assessment report that exposes how the Uttarkashi tunnel collapse and its intricate rescue operation could have been prevented (08:40).

And in the end, Indian Express’ Gopal Kateshiya tells us how five men constructed fake toll booths on a national highway in Gujarat (16:16).

Hosted by Rahel Philipose
Written and produced by Rahel Philipose, Shashank Bhargava, and Utsa Sarmin
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 20th of December and here are the headlines.

Two MPs from Kerala, Thomas Chazhikadan and AM Arif were suspended from the Lok Sabha today, taking the total number of suspensions in both houses to 143. Meanwhile, the National Democratic Alliance MPs in Rajya Sabha stood up and took part in the House proceeding today to express their support to Chairman and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar after TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee mimicked him outside the Parliament yesterday.

In similar news, the vice-president said he would not tolerate any insult to Parliament and the post of vice-president. He said, quote, "You can insult Jagdeep Dhankar all you want but not the Vice President of India," Unquote. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also called Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar expressing great pain over the "abject theatrics" of some MPs in the Parliament complex yesterday.

Covid-19 cases are on the rise in India, with the country recording 614 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours, prompting the Union Health Minister to direct states to monitor emerging strains. This is the highest number of new cases detected since the 21st of May. As per the latest Union Health Ministry data updated at 8 am today, India now has 2,311 active cases. Three new deaths have been reported from Kerala, taking the overall death toll to date to 5.33 lakh and the Covid case tally to 4.50 crore.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi today along with nine Trinamool Congress MPs. After the meeting she, said that the PM assured her that a joint meeting of government officials would be held to look into their demands on releasing central funds for the state for various projects. Banerjee has accused the Centre of blocking funds to various central schemes and had even written to PM Modi on the issue.

For the first time since the allegations of an Indian official and an Indian national being involved in an alleged plot to assassinate Khalistani separatist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun on US soil came to light, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that if an Indian citizen has done anything good or bad, the government is "ready to look into it". While this is the first time PM Modi has spoken on the issue, he also sought to clear the air that the incident would not have an adverse impact on Indo-US ties, saying he does not think it apt to link a few incidents with diplomatic ties.

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

First, Indian Express' Vikas Pathak joins us to talk about the rationale and intentions behind BJP's Chief Ministerial candidates in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.

Second, we talk about India beginning its first of many year round expeditions to the Arctic Region. Raman Research Institute's Science Communication Officer Anjali Marar joins us to elaborate on the same.

Finally, we give an update on the MP suspensions happening in the Parliament post the Lok Sabha security breach.

Hosted by Rahel Philipose
Written and Produced by Shashank Bhargava, Niharika Nanda, Rahel Philipose and Utsa Sarmin
Edited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar

Dear listeners, before we start today's show, a quick announcement.

Today we have published the ninth episode of our podcast series, The Early Childhood Project. Indian Express in collaboration with the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF), has brought you this 10 part series where our host, Anuradha Varma speaks to experts, parents, and caregivers about the critical development of children, and how to lay the foundation for good health and learning, in later childhood and adulthood. In the latest episode, we hear from the talented actor and devoted mom, Soha Ali Khan, to discuss the unique challenges of raising children in a post-Covid world. So don’t miss out on the episode, and the series which is available on our website indianexpress.com and everywhere you get your podcasts.

Now, on with the show.

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.

It’s the 19th of December and here are the headlines.

49 Lok Sabha MPs, including NC leader Farooq Abdullah, Congress leaders Shashi Tharoor, Manish Tewari, Karti Chidambaram and NCP Supriya Sule were suspended for disrupting House proceedings today. With this, a total of 141 MPs have now been suspended in this Winter session of the Parliament – 95 from Lok Sabha and 46 from Rajya Sabha. Both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned till 2 pm today as Opposition MPs continued their protests over their suspension and pressing for a statement from PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah on the Parliament security breach.

The Bombay High Court allowed an appeal filed by Gautam Navlakha. He is the accused in the Elgaar Parishad case and had challenged an order of a special NIA court which rejected his bail application in April this year. On the request of NIA, the HC stayed implementation of its order by three weeks for central agency to approach the Supreme Court. Navlakha, who was arrested on April 14, 2020, has been incarcerated since then; and has been under house arrest in Navi Mumbai since Supreme Court order of November last year.

The first session of the 16th Madhya Pradesh Assembly witnessed controversy regarding a portrait of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru being replaced with that of Dr B R Ambedkar. Congress leaders said that while installing an Ambedkar portrait was a welcome move, the removal of Nehru’s amounted to a “conspiracy of the BJP to change history”. Government officials said the portrait had been removed because it was in bad condition, and that later it was decided to install an Ambedkar portrait there.

Former chief minister of Chhattisgarh Raman Singh was elected as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly today. Outgoing speaker and present Leader of Opposition Charan Das Mahant moved the proposal for the election of Singh as the Speaker and former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel as well as other MLAs gave their mandate to the BJP leader.

Over a 100 people have been killed in China after a 6.2-magnitude earthquake struck two northwestern provinces of the country Monday night. Local authorities said that as many as 105 people have been killed and 397 injured in Gansu province, while in neighbouring Qinghai province, 13 people have been killed and 182 injured.The epicentre of the quake was in Jishishan county.

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

First, Indian Express’ Apurva Vishwanath discusses the significance of the Supreme Court's Article 370 verdict and its potential far-reaching implications for other states in the country.

Next, Indian Express Anonna Dutt explains the reasons behind the growing demand for menstrual leaves and explores concerns that it might be used against women (13:08).

Finally, we provide a brief update on the increasing cases of Covid-19 in the country (22:44).

Hosted by Rahel Philipose
Written and produced by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika Nanda
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

The headlines this evening from the Indian Express.

First, Indian Express' Amitabh Sinha, who covered COP28 from Dubai, joins us to share insights, highlights, and outcomes of the Climate Conference.

Second, Indian Express' Asad Rehman discussed the Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi and Shahi Idgah Masjid dispute and its similarity with the Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple case. (16:36)

Lastly, we give you an update on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on the Parliament security breach and Rahul Gandhi's comments regarding the same. (25:27)

Hosted by Utsa Sarmin
Written and produced by Utsa Sarmin, Rahel Philipose, Niharika Nanda, and Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

The headlines this evening from the Indian Express.

First, a witness to the incident, Indian Express' Liz Matthew joins us to share what went down at the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, amid a security breach when two men opened smoke canisters inside the Parliament.

Second, Indian Express' Harish Damodaran talks about how the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution directed all mills and distilleries not to use sugarcane juice/syrup for making any ethanol. (14:37)

Lastly, we talk about the installation of high-focus CCTV cameras in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kishtwar district that have an integrated facial recognition system powered by artificial intelligence.(21:50)

Hosted by Rahel Philipose
Written and produced by Utsa Sarmin, Rahel Philipose, and Niharika Nanda
Edited and mixed by Suresh Pawar