4 min readNew DelhiMay 25, 2023 08:32 AM IST
First published on: May 25, 2023 at 08:32 AM IST
🔎 Express investigation
A crackdown on crime has always been central to Yogi Adityanath’s governance in Uttar Pradesh. But consider this: since he took charge as chief minister in 2017, the state has witnessed 186 encounters, an investigation of police records by The Indian Express revealed. This works out to more than one alleged criminal being killed by the police every 15 days.
Meanwhile, according to UP Special DG, Crime and Law & Order, Prashant Kumar, encounters are a “very small” part of the state government’s “overall strategy”. Read his interview to get a sense of just what the state’s strategy is.
🚨 Big Story
👉🏽 With the inauguration of the new Parliament building now just days away, 19 Opposition parties have banded together to announce that they will be boycotting the event. Why, you may ask? Well, they have accused Prime Minister Modi of “completely sidelining” President Draupadi Murmu by deciding to inaugurate the new building himself. Here is how the controversy unfolded.
👉🏽 But not all Opposition parties seem to be on the same page. Some of that Opposition glue seems to have come unstuck, with several regional non-BJP parties — including the Akali Dal, BJP and YSRCP — announcing that they will be attending the inaugural event.
📰 From the Front Page
🔴A Rampur court has acquitted senior Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan in a 2019 hate speech case, the conviction in which had led to his disqualification from Assembly last year and resulted in a bypoll that was won by the BJP.
🔴 On the last leg of his Australia visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged the recent attack on temples as well as the referendum being conducted by pro-Khalistan groups in the country.
👩🏽💻 Must Read
👉🏽 Until recently, people in Chhattisgarh’s Abhujmad area, considered a Maoist hotbed, would have to travel at least 65 km for a minor medical procedure. Now, there is a sense of relief amongst the residents after district authorities opened an operation theatre, its first such permanent facility. Read the full story here.
👉🏽 In our opinion section today, IPS officer Shraddha Pandey writes on how despite more women having made it to the civil services this year, equality at home and at the workplace remains a challenge. “There is hardly any talk of an equal ecosystem at home,” she writes.
👉🏽 At Jantar Mantar, protesting wrestlers, including Bajrang Punia, Vinesh Phogat and Sakshi Malik, said they were willing to undergo a nacro analysis test, provided it was monitored by the Supreme Court. What is the apex court’s ruling on the legality and admissibility of narco tests, and what was the legal position before that? We explain.
⏱️ And finally…
“Never give up on your dreams…because your dreams matter”.
These were the words of 15-year-old Maleesha Kharwa, who recently took the Internet by storm after she became the face of a campaign by Forest Essentials, a skincare brand. From a Bandra slum to a ‘heroine with blue ticks’, read her story here.
🤫Delhi Confidential: While the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud usually delivers his speeches in English, he chose to speak in Hindi during the inauguration of the new High Court campus in Ranchi. The speech was also a way to send a message across — that the apex court is not an English-speaking one but is deeply connected with the people
🎧 In today’s 3 things podcast, we discuss about how Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is gathering support from opposition leaders against the Centre’s Ordinance on control of services in the national capital, reasons for the delay in the 2021 census and its implications, and the story of a woman from Punjab who ended up in Oman on the pretext of a false job offer.
Until tomorrow,
Rahel Philipose and Varsha Sriram
Top news for today, May 25, 2023 
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