FIRSTUP: 3RD PHASE OF LOK SABHA POLLS, KEJRIWAL’S BAIL PLEA HEARING… TOP NEWS TODAY
It is going to be busy for India today.
The voting for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 is being held today in 93 constituencies across 11 states and Union Territories.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments on the interim bail of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case, and the allegations of misleading claims against Patanjali and Divya Pharmacy.
On the global front, Russian president Vladimir Putin will begin another six-year term as president wielding extraordinary power.
Here's a quick look at big headlines today.
Third phase of Lok Sabha elections
The voting for the third phase of Lok Sabha elections 2024 is set to take place today.
The polling will be held in 93 Lok Sabha constituencies across 11 states and Union Territories.
As many as 1,351 candidates are in the fray in the phase three polls, as per the Election Commission of India.
Notably, the voting for the Anantnag-Rajouri seat in Jammu and Kashmir has been deferred to 25 May.
Polling in Madhya Pradesh’s Betul, which was to be held in the second phase on 26 April, is being held today.
SC hearing in Patanjali’s misleading ads case
The Supreme Court will hear a plea by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) accusing Patanjali and Divya Pharmacy of making misleading claims regarding treatments.
In the last hearing, the top court had questioned the Uttarakhand State Licencing Authority (SLA) over its response to the allegations and said it had woken up only after the court’s intervention in the matter.
Yoga guru Ramdev and Patanjali MD Acharya Balkrishna show their fingers marked with indelible ink after casting their votes for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, in Haridwar. PTI
A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Ahsanuddin Amanullah was hearing the case.
The court had noted that only newspaper cutting of the public apologies issued by Patanjali was filed and had asked to see the entire page to know the size of the public notice.
Hearing on Arvind Kejriwal’s bail plea
The apex court will hear arguments on the interim bail of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal in the excise policy case.
On Friday, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta said that arguments on Kejriwal’s plea against arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and his subsequent remand in the excise policy case, may take some time, so it may hear arguments on the question of interim bail Kejriwal on Tuesday.
However, the bench also made it clear that it had not decided anything finally and that it was only informing all counsel that such a form of interim relief may be considered if the hearing is unlikely to conclude soon.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Kejriwal had challenged a Delhi High Court judgment that dismissed his plea against arrest by the ED and his subsequent remand in the excise policy case.
Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned by the ED thrice so far, most recently on 21 December. File photo/PTI
Kejriwal, while filing an appeal in the apex court had contended that his arrest after the announcement of the General Elections was “motivated by extraneous considerations.”
President Murmu to attend cultural programme in Shimla
President Droupadi Murmu arrived in Shimla on Saturday for a five-day visit to Himachal Pradesh.
On Tuesday, she will witness a cultural programme at the Gaiety Heritage Cultural Complex in Shimla.
This will be followed by a dinner hosted by the Governor of Himachal Pradesh at Raj Bhawan.
During her visit, she has been staying at the Rashtrapati Niwas, Mashobra near Shimla.
In the wake of her visit, tight security arrangements have been made and around 1,500 police personnel have been deployed in the city.
NASA's Boeing crew flight test
Indian-origin astronaut Captain Sunita Williams and her fellow veteran NASA astronaut Butch Wilmore are set to fly to the International Space Station (ISS) on a brand new spacecraft, the Boeing Starliner, on Tuesday.
The duo will launch into space from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida in the first crewed test flight of Starliner. The flight, if it succeeds, will become the second private firm being able to provide crew transport to and from the ISS.
The launch is scheduled to take place at 10:34 pm EDT on Monday, 6 May, i.e., 7 May at 8.04 am Indian Standard Time.
Vladimir Putin begins another term
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday will begin another six-year term as president wielding extraordinary power.
The former KGB lieutenant first rose to power in 1999 and has shaped Russia into a monolithic society.
FILE - Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a forum at the VDNKh exhibition of economic achievements in Moscow, Russia, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. Over the last decade, Putin's Russia evolved from a country that tolerates at least some dissent to one that ruthlessly suppresses it. Arrests, trials and long prison terms — once rare — are commonplace. (Sergei Karpukhin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File)
This March, he cemented his already tight grip on power in a victory he said showed Moscow had been right to stand up to the West and send its troops into Ukraine.
The new term will see him overtake Josef Stalin and become Russia’s longest-serving leader for more than 200 years if he completes it.
IPL 2024 – DC vs RR
Rishabh Pant-led Delhi Capitals (DC) will play against the high-flying Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the 56th match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024.
The match will be held at Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi today at 7.30 pm.
In the IPL point table, the DC has secured the sixth spot with 10 points from 11 matches played, while the RR stands second in the table.
Apple event likely to announce new iPad models
Apple is set to kick off its iPad refresh cycles with a “Let Loose” event on Tuesday.
The American giant is expected to announce the iPad Pro and iPad Aid.
The event will begin at 7.30 pm (IST) and the virtual event will be livestreamed on Apple’s website for a global audience.
Apple is also expected to unveil new accessories such as new models in its pencil line-up.
A day to remember
- Birth anniversary of author, poet and Nobel prize laureate Rabindranath Tagore
- Germany signed unconditional surrender in 1945, ending its participation in World War II
- Mercedes-Benz bought Chrysler for $40 billion in 1998 to form DaimlerChrysler. It was the largest merger till then
- Joan of Arc ended the Siege of Orléans in 1429
- Vladimir Putin was elected as president of Russia in 2000