Bhubaneswar:

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday dissolved the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, days after the party’s poor showing in the Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the state.

Mr Kharge has approved the proposal of complete dissolution of the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee, including its President, PCC, office bearers and executive committee, District/Block/Mandal Congress Committees, Frontal Organisations, Departments and Cells, with immediate effect, a statement issued by the party said.

“The current DCC presidents will serve as acting presidents until new DCC Presidents are appointed,” the statement said.

Sarat Pattanayak was the president of the now-dissolved Odisha PCC. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhubaneswar:

Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress workers on Tuesday came to blows at the Master Canteen area of the city during a protest by the former over the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi’s remarks in the Parliament.

The police personnel deployed at the spot seemed helpless as the bustling area turned into a battlefield with both groups raining stones at each other.

Sources claimed that around 30 to 40 BJP workers were holding a protest near the Congress Bhawan at Master Canteen on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a heated argument erupted between the workers of BJP and Congress when some of the protestors started throwing cow dung at the hoarding of LoP Rahul Gandhi near the Congress Bhawan.

The argument soon turned violent as both groups engaged in a brawl and started throwing stones at each other. Sources revealed that as many as seven persons including workers of both BJP and Congress have sustained injuries in the fight.

“Everyone has the right to protest. But, the BJP workers hurled cow dung, stones and attacked us with sticks in the presence of Police before the office of a national party which indicates that BJP is trying to begin a politics of violence in the land of Lingaraj and Jagannath,” said Yasir Nawaz, Congress President.

Nawaz warned that the Chief Minister and other leaders of the BJP wouldn’t be allowed to travel on the streets by the student wing of Congress if police fail to take any action in the case.

BJP workers have filed a complaint at the Capital police station accusing Congress of hurling stones at the party workers during the protest against the alleged anti-Hindu remarks by LoP Rahul Gandhi. A separate complaint has been filed by Congress workers too.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)