Good morning!
🏅Before we begin, we are happy to announce that the Morning Expresso has won gold in the best newsletter category at the WAN-IFRA South Asian Digital Media Awards 2022. We thank our readers for their continued support.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming! In today’s edition: Budget Session begins today; second leg of Bharat Jodo Yatra on the cards; three years of Covid-19; a look at Women’s Premier League; and more Big Story The Budget Session of Parliament may set off to a stormy start today, with the Opposition seeking discussions on the row over accusations against Gautam Adani’s companies and on the curbs over the recent BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The government, at an all-party meeting on Monday, assured the parties that it was willing to discuss every issue as per the rules. A singal from states: With some visible traction in capex spending by states late in the current financial year, the Centre is likely to renew its thrust on capital expenditure in the upcoming Budget, which will be presented on February 1. Only in the Express
As the curtains closed on the Bharat Jodo Yatra Monday, Congress leader K C Venugopal in an interview with The Indian Express hinted at a second leg of the yatra, which will also involve Rahul Gandhi. How does he view the gains from the Yatra, and what are Congress's plans going forward? Read here.
Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mehbooba Mufti during the final day of the Bharat Jodo Yatra. (Express Photo by Shuaib Masoodi) From the Front Page
In September last year, 81 Rajasthan MLAs resigned from the Assembly. Their resignations, however, were rejected. In an affidavit filed in the Rajasthan High Court, accessed by The Indian Express, Speaker CP Joshi states that the MLAs had told him that their "resignation letters given earlier were not voluntary.” A special court in Lucknow awarded the death sentence to 30-year-old Ahmed Murtaza Abbasi for attacking and injuring two police constables with a sharp-edged weapon while trying to forcibly enter the premises of the Gorakhnath temple in UP in April last year.
Must Read
Three years have passed since India reported its first case of Covid-19. Since then, more than 4.4 crore infections and 5.3 lakh deaths have been reported across the country so far. From the three distinct waves of the pandemic and the challenges that emerged, to the massive nationwide immunisation drive — we take a look at the last three years. Another unfortunate outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic was the loss of crucial gains made in closing the gender gap across different undergraduate programmes. According to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) released by the Education Ministry, the number of women for every 100 men enrolled across different Bachelor’s programmes dropped in the academic year 2020-21. Here is what the data show. In our opinion section today, Sanjay Srivastava writes on the Bharat Jodo movement and what it means for the Congress and Rahul Gandhi: “In a milieu characterised by a search for a homogenous national identity and anti-politics, BJY runs the risk of being interpreted as going against the “true” national interest at best and a political gimmick, at worst.” And Finally... Big money was spent recently —Rs 5,651 crore — to buy broadcast and franchise rights for the Women’s Premier League league and its five teams. Packaging the WPL as a women’s version of the hugely-popular Indian Premier League (IPL) is no guarantee that fans, with their loyalties in the men’s game, will watch it at a stadium or their homes. We take a look at the factors that will determine whether the WPL will provide return on investment. 🤫 Delhi Confidential: Old habits, they say, die hard. Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Monday addressed former Attorney General of India K K Venugopal, who appeared before him in a matter, as Mr Attorney, only to realise the slip quickly and correct. “Sorry I’m saying Attorney. Once an Attorney, always an Attorney,” the CJI said laughingly as Venugopal, too, reciprocated with a smile. 🎧 In today’s episode of the ‘3 Things’ podcast: after walking over 4000 km and crossing 12 states and 2 Union Territories, did the Bharat Jodo Yatra impact Rahul Gandhi's image and the Congress? Until tomorrow, Sonal Gupta and Rahel Philipose
| 
