First, we talk to Indian Express' Anand Mohan about the huge volume of Congress party leaders, members and workers who are now jumping ship and joining the BJP.Second, Indian Express' Rural Affairs Editor Harish Damodaran joins us to talk about the high-yielding varieties of paddy seeds that have led to some of the best varieties of Basmati rice in India making its way to Pakistan, illegally. (10:12)Lastly, we talk about BJP fielding Arun Govil, the actor who played the role of Lord Ram in Ramanand Sagar's Ramayan, from Meerut in UP. (21:58)Hosted by Niharika NandaWritten and Produced by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika NandaEdited and Mixed by Suresh Pawar

Mass Congress exodus in MP, Pak's rice piracy, and 'Ram' contests

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First, Indian Express’ Aditi Raja joins us to talk about the Tribal belt of Gujarat that cast its votes yesterday for the Lok Sabha elections and the challenges that they have been facing.Next, Indian Express’ Nihal Koshie talks to us about the BJP fielding Karan Bhushan Singh from the Kaiserganj seat instead of father and former President of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh. (13:02)And in the end, we talk about the Election Commission of India issuing an advisory for all the parties to remove all the deepfake content, audios and videos from their social media pages which have been used as a part of the election campaigns. (20:13)Hosted by Niharika NandaProduced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Key issues in Gujarat's tribal belt, Brij Bhushan's son, and EC on deepfakes

This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 6th of May and here are today's headlines.Exuding confidence that the BJP would form the government in Odisha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government’s “expiry date” was 4th of June– the day the results come out. Addressing a rally in Berhampur parliamentary constituency, Modi said, quote, “Today is May 6. By June 6, a BJP chief minister will be nominated and on June 10, an oath-taking ceremony will be held. Write it down. I have come here to welcome you to the BJP government’s oath-taking ceremony. The double engine government will come to Odisha for the first time,” unquote. Odisha Assembly elections will be held simultaneously with Lok Sabha polls.A day ahead of polling in all 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat, 16 schools in Ahmedabad received bomb threat emails today. According to JCP (Crime Branch) Sharad Singhal, 12 schools in Ahmedabad city and four in Ahmedabad rural jurisdiction received the threat emails around 6 am. The emails were received from a Russian domain name ‘mail.ru’. He further stated that combing operations were undertaken in all the schools and “nothing was found”, terming the threats to be “hoax”.National Conference leader Farooq Abdullah today warned about Pakistan being a nuclear power in response to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s comment on people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir wanting to merge with India. Abdullah said, quote, “If the defence minister is saying it then go ahead. Who are we to stop? But remember, they (Pakistan) are also not wearing bangles. It has atom bombs, and unfortunately, that atom bomb will fall on us." Unquote. Reportedly, Rajnath on Sunday stated that India won’t have to capture PoK with force because “its people, on their own, would want to be part of the country after seeing the development in Kashmir”.The Bombay High Court today granted temporary bail of two months, on health grounds, to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, arrested in a money laundering case lodged by the Enforcement Directorate. Goyal was arrested by the central agency in September last year and had approached the high court after a special court denied his bail plea. The court also asked Goyal to surrender his passport and directed him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 1 lakh with sureties.The third phase of the Lok Sabha elections will be held on 7th of May with voters in 94 parliamentary constituencies across 12 states and Union Territories casting their ballot to elect the new government. By tomorrow evening, over 280 constituencies will have gone to polls, meaning that more than half of the total seats in Lok Sabha will have been decided. That leaves polling in 263 constituencies in the four remaining phases. The state of Gujarat and the union territories of Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu will complete polling in a single phase on Tuesday.This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.

The Catch Up: 6 May

First, Indian Express’ Maulshree Seth tells us why Rahul Gandhi decided to contest from Raebareli instead of Amethi, and why Priyanka Gandhi chose not to make her electoral debut in these polls.Next, Indian Express’ Mohamed Thaver informs us about the incident of firing outside Salman Khan's residence and the key suspects in the case (13:35).Lastly, we provide you with the details of the latest terror attack in Jammu's Poonch district (22:40).Hosted by Shashank BhargavaProduced and written by Shashank Bhargava and Niharika NandaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

The Amethi-Raebareli twist, Salman Khan firing case, and Poonch terror attack

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.

The Catch Up: 3 May

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 NandaProduced and written by Niharika Nanda and Shashank BhargavaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar

Mass Congress exodus in MP, Pak's rice piracy, and 'Ram' contests

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