Former Chitrakonda MLA Dambaru Sisa Quits BJD, Likely To Join BJP

by Hemanta Pande

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

In another jolt to Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ahead of the general elections, senior BJD leader and former Chitrakonda MLA Dambaru Sisa quit the party on Sunday.

Malkangiri, Mar 28: In another jolt to Odisha’s ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) ahead of the general elections, senior BJD leader and former Chitrakonda MLA Dambaru Sisa quit the party on Thursday.

According to sources, Sisa sent his resignation letter to BJD president and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, citing negligence and disrespect within the party ranks.

Sisa is likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), sources said.

The tribal leader won as an MLA from Chitrakonda constituency in Malkangiri district in 2014 on a BJD ticket. In 2019, he was denied the party ticket.

In the last few weeks, several BJD leaders including sitting MP and MLAs quit the BJD and joined the saffron party.

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Odisha Continue To Reel Under Intense Heat Wave, Jharsuguda Boils At 41.4°C By 11:30 Am

by Utkalika Mohanty

Odisha Sizzles In Heat, Jharsuguda Boils At 41.4°C By 11:30 Am

Bhubaneswar, Apr 27: Odisha continued to reel under intense heat wave, with Jharsuguda the hottest at 41.4 degree Celsius by 11:30 Am.

While Bhubaneswar is the second hottest city at 41.2 degree Celsius. Keonjhar and Balasore registered 40.6 and 40.1 degree Celsius.

Similarly, Sambalpur recorded 40 degree Celsius. Chandbali recorded 39.6 degree Celsius, Hirakud 39 and Rourkela 38.6 degrees Celsius.

Severe heat wave conditions are likely to prevail over the state for the next four days. A heatwave warning has been issued for north Odisha and western Odisha.

The temperature is likely to be rise above 45 degrees. For this, a red alert has been issued in some districts.

According to the Regional Meteorological Centre, the heat wave conditions will continue till May 9.

Giriraj Singh lashes out at Rahul Gandhi over "Panicked PM" remark,calls Congress "leaderless party"

by Manisha Das

Begusarai, April 27: Union Minister and BJP candidate for the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat Giriraj Singh has criticized Rahul Gandhi's "PM has panicked" remark, stating that the Congress leader lacks understanding of his own statements.

Singh said, "It is the misfortune of the Congress that there are leaders like Rahul Gandhi in the Congress Party. Those who themselves do not understand what they are saying, then how will people understand them. Congress Party is, in a way, a leaderless party."

Singh's comments come in response to Rahul Gandhi's assertion that the Prime Minister has "panicked" after seeing the Congress party's "revolutionary" manifesto.

Coming down heavily on Rahul Gandhi over his comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said that the Congress leader is "mentally disturbed and he needs treatment".

"Rahul Gandhi's mental stability is disturbed. These are not the values of India. He (PM Modi) is the world's most popular leader and dozens of countries honoured him with their biggest honours. Narendra Modi is not just India's but the world's hope. Using abusive terms for him only shows how nervous the Congress is. Congress is about to be extinct," Chouhan said.

Directing an attack towards Congress party's indecisiveness of a candidate from Amethi, Chouhan said, "The fear of defeat is such that he (Rahul Gandhi) is running away from his seat. He has lost his mental stability due to nervousness and needs a medical treatment.

Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had panicked after seeing the Congress' "revolutionary" manifesto. "So did you like the Congress manifesto? You must have seen that the Prime Minister has panicked. It is a revolutionary manifesto," Rahul Gandhi said while speaking at Social Justice conclave organised by the Congress in Delhi.

His comment was in the backdrop of Prime Minister Modi's criticism that Congress manifesto smacks of appeasement and that if it came to power, it would redistribute people's wealth and also give reservations to Muslims from the quota for SC, ST, and OCB communities.

(ANI)

WhatsApp's new filter option will let users get list of their favourites from chats tab

by Swati Sucharita

New Delhi, Apr 27: Meta-owned WhatsApp is reportedly testing a new feature that will offer users a dedicated "filter" to quickly get a list of their favourites from the chats tab on Android.

According to WABetaInfo, the feature is set for release in a future update of the app.

With this new chat filter, users will get to easily access and prioritise specific conversations with their favourite contacts and groups.

As per the report, this new tool will let users mark specific contacts and groups as favourites, making it easier to prioritise important chats and access those they engage with most often.

This feature is presently under development and it will be available in a future update of the app, the report added.

Meanwhile, WhatsApp is reportedly working on a new feature that will let users react quickly to status updates on Android.

With the 'quick reaction feature for status updates', users will be able to quickly add a reaction to status updates, allowing them to express their appreciation for the posted content with ease.