Chirag, Rankireddy To Get Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna On Jan 9; Shami Arjuna Award

Earlier, the actor took to his Instagram stories and appealed to the messaging platform after his WhatsApp account was blocked for nearly 60 hours.

The actor made distressed appeals as people in need reached out to him for help.

On Sunday, Sonu once again updated his 27.7 million followers about the status of his account.

The actor shared that he had over 9,000 unread messages within a span of 61 hours.

"Finally retrieved my WhatsApp. Just 9,483 unread messages in 61 hours. Thanks," he wrote.

Previously, the actor turned to X (formerly known as Twitter), and wrote: "My number does not work on @WhatsApp. I have been facing this problem many times. I feel it's time for you guys to upgrade your services (sic)."

Meanwhile, on the work front, the actor will soon be seen in 'Fateh'. The film also stars Jacqueliene Fernandez in the lead role and marks Sonu's directorial debut.

Produced by Shakti Sagar Productions and Zee Studios, the movie revolves around the complexities and challenges of cybercrime.

The film will also feature some action sequences supervised by Hollywood stunt expert Lee Whittaker.

‘Fateh’ is all set to hit screens this year.

Coming down heavily on the TMC regime over the alleged abuse and excesses on women, as well as charges of land-grab in Sandeshkhali, Nadda said it was 'painful' to see women coming out on the streets and saying that they were being threatened by goons enjoying the patronage of the ruling party in the state.

In a personalised video address on Sunday, the BJP national chief said, "We have seen how on the watch of the Mamata Banerjee government, the state is being overrun by strongmen and goons, and how the likes of (Sheikh) Shahjahan were intimidating women and posing a threat to their safety in Sandeshkhali. The prevailing situation, in a nutshell, is sensitive and painful. Teams from central investigating agencies, which went to Sandeshkhali to protect the honour and dignity of women, were thwarted and attacked."

On the recovery of a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the house of a person allegedly linked to a TMC leader, who is believed to be a close aide of Shahjahan, the key Sandeshkhai accused who is currently behind bars in connection with the attack on an ED team earlier, Nadda asked if Mamata's 'strongmen' were threatening people at gunpoint for votes in the ongoing general elections.

"Is this how Mamata Banerjee is planning to win these elections? By threatening the public? Was this the idea and vision for Bengal that the likes of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose, Sri Aurobindo, Rabindra Nath Tagore, and Swami Vivekananda had put forward?" Nadda questioned.

Asserting that Sandeshkali has emerged as a symbol of resistance against the 'cruelty' and 'ruthlessness' of the Mamata regime, Nadda said the people will give the ruling party in the state a befitting reply in the ongoing elections.

"During the searches in Sandeshkhali, the joint team of the CBI and NSG bomb squads recovered 3 foreign-made revolvers, 1 revolver used by the state police, several bullets, and cartridges. The NSG commandos were also at the scene to protect the people in Sandeshkhali (while the searches were underway). The arms recovery and the state of fear among the people tell us how the Mamata government is spreading anarchy in Bengal. The public will give you (Mamata) a befitting reply, as the BJP will win more than 35 seats in the state," Nadda added.

Amid polling in Phase 2 of the Lok Sabha elections on Friday, the CBI, along with NSG bomb squads, carried out searches at two premises in Sandeshkhali and the North 24 Parganas district in connection with its probe into the attack on a team from the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) earlier.

During the raids, the joint team recovered a large number of arms and ammunition, including foreign-made pistol and revolvers.

The team recovered three foreign-made revolvers, one Indian-made revolver, one Colt revolver used by the state police, one foreign-made pistol, one countrymade pistol, 120 09 mm bullets, 50 .45 calibre cartridges, 120 09 mm calibre cartridges, 50 .380 cartridges and eight .32 cartridges, the agency stated.

Besides these, several other incriminating documents related to Sheikh Shahjahan were also recovered, according to the agency. Some items suspected to be countrymade explosives, which were also found during the searches, were disabled or disposed of, the agency informed.

However, the ruling Trinamool Congress lodged a complaint with the Chief Electoral Officer of the state on Saturday over the raids in Sandeshkhali, terming it as a BJP ploy and claiming that the weapons were planted to give it the appearance of recovery and seizure.

The ruling party in the state alleged further that the CBI did not issue 'actionable notice' to the state government or the police administration before carrying out the raids.

Further, according to the complaint, in the absence of any representative of the state government, the "purported recovery of arms and ammunition" was a ploy by the BJP, which is in cahoots with the CBI and the NSG to "plant such weapons at the site".

Earlier, hundreds of women on the island came out on the streets, alleging grave excesses and land-grab by Shahjahan and his henchmen.

Polling for the Lok Sabha in the state is being held across all seven phases.

(ANI)

Sunak said he would not "say anything more than I've already said", which is that the national poll is likely to be in the second half of the year.

Most Westminster analysts take this as meaning October or November, although it could technically also mean July.

However, a drubbing in mayoral and council elections on May 2 could either lead to a challenge to his leadership or persuade him that an earlier polling day could be a better solution than limping on with a divided party.

The defection of a Conservative ex-health minister to Labour could further spook already restive Tory MPs and increase the pressure on the Prime Minister.

Dan Poulter on Saturday announced he was quitting the Tory Party, which he accused of no longer prioritising the overstretched NHS.

Sunak was asked on Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, recorded before Poulter's shock defection, whether the latter half of 2024 could mean July.

The Prime Minister said: “I’m not going to say anything more than I've already said, I've been very clear about that."

Pressed repeatedly whether he was ruling out July, he said: "I'm not going to do that."

"You're going to try and draw whatever conclusion you want from what I say. I'm going to always try and say the same thing. You should just listen to what I said, same thing I've said all year."

When presenter, Trevor said he wanted to know when to book his summer holidays, the Prime Minister replied: "Actually, Trevor, it's more important than your holiday or anyone's holiday. I've got a job to do which is delivering for the country."

"And as we've been talking about, we are delivering when it comes to tackling illegal migration. We’re delivering when it comes to investing in our defence."

The full interview will air on Sky News on Sunday morning.

In less than a week, the Tories are expected to lose about half of their council seats up for election, while their two most high-profile regional mayors face difficult contests.

Some analysts believe defeat for West Midlands Mayor Andy Street and Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen could lead to the Prime Minister facing a no-confidence vote, with 52 Tory MPs needed to trigger one.

Rumours were swirling in Westminster on Friday that Sunak could fire the starting gun on an election campaign as soon as Monday in a bid to thwart a possible challenge from restive MPs, though Downing Street brushed them off.

The latest possible date he could hold the election is January 28, 2025.

Sunak sought to bolster his premiership this week with a flurry of announcements, including the passing of Rwanda asylum legislation and a pledge to spend 2.5 per cent of the gross domestic product on defence by 2030.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps urged colleagues considering ousting Sunak before the general election to “let him get on with the job."

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“Now is not the time or place” to try to put in place yet another Conservative leader, he told The Times.

But a BMG survey for the i paper suggested that voters who backed the Conservatives in 2019, but have since deserted the party, would be more likely to vote Tory under a different leader.

(IANS/DPA)