This is the Catch Up on 3 Things for the Indian Express and I'm Flora Swain.It’s the 22nd of January and here are the headlines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who led the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ in Ayodhya today said that it was an emotional moment for him as after years of wait, Lord Ram had finally arrived in Ayodhya. While addressing the invitees, he said, quote, “Ram Lalla will no longer reside in a tent as this great temple has been consecrated for him." Unquote. He said he would want to use the day to apologize to Lord Ram as it took them so many centuries to complete the consecration of the temple.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today termed the reasons given by the Tamil Nadu Police as “atrocious”, while rejecting an application by a local temple in the state’s Dindigul district seeking permission for almsgiving (annadanam) in connection with the Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha event. The bench was hearing a plea which alleged that on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had “issued oral orders/Directions to the Police Department not to permit any kind of Poojas, Archanas, Annadhanam, Live Telecast of Pran Prathishta, Bhajans and processions in the name of Lord Ram on the auspicious occasion of “Pran Prathista” of Lord Ram at Ayodhya, in all the Temples of Tamil Nadu.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, whose Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is currently passing through Assam, slammed the authorities for allegedly stopping him from visiting the Sri Sri Sankar Dev Satra temple in Nagaon. He said, quote, “It seems like only one person is allowed to enter a temple today. Will PM Modi decide who visits temples?" Unquote. The Congress will hold demonstrations across the country this evening over what it claimed to be “planned attacks” on the convoys of Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam.

Japan’s Sony Group Corporation today called off the proposal to merge its Indian subsidiary Sony Pictures Networks India Private Ltd (SPNI), with Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. Sony Corporation issued a notice terminating the definitive agreements relating to the $10 billion merger, which was previously announced on 22nd of December 2021. While Sony cited the delay in the merger, there were conflicting views about the leadership of the combined entity by Zee’s MD & CEO Punit Goenka.

Air India will put into service its brand-new Airbus A350-900 today. The plane, which is also the first A350 aircraft in the country, was officially inaugurated at Wings India 2024 in Hyderabad last week. It will be initially deployed on domestic routes for a few months for crew familiarisation flights, before switching to international medium and long-haul routes by mid-2024.
This was the Catch-Up on the 3 Things by The Indian Express.