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President Droupadi Murmu, PM Narendra Modi, other leaders express condolences on passing away of UK's Queen Elizabeth II Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday condoled the death of Queen Elizabeth II as he hailed her "inspiring leadership".

Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister recalled his memorable meetings with the Queen during his UK visits in 2015 and 2018. "I will never forget her warmth and kindness. During one of the meetings, she showed me the handkerchief Mahatma Gandhi gifted her on her wedding. I will always cherish that gesture," PM Modi tweeted.

Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, whose Delhi visit this week has brought the focus back on the opposition, on Wednesday took a sharp aim at his former colleague Prashant Kishor. In his push for the unity of the opposition, Nitish Kumar has held a flurry of meetings this week, including with the Congress’s Rahul Gandhi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The 71-year-old JD(U) leader has broken ties with the BJP at a time when the rival parties have been trying to forge a united front ahead of 2024 national elections. “We want to be the main front, not the third front,” Kumar told reporters assertively, saying he would also meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi after she returns from abroad where she has gone for a medical check-up.

In the midst of all updates and visuals of meetings emerging on social media, Nitish Kumar also took a potshot at poll strategist Prashant Kishor. “Working with other political parties is his business. Whatever he has got to do in Bihar, does not concern us. Does he know the ‘ABC’ of what all has been done since 2005?”

The Narendra Modi government has directed its ministries and departments to draw up an action plan to speed up the winding up and disinvestment of those public sector undertakings (PSUs) that have already received the cabinet’s approval for closure.

The closure of loss-making and sick PSUs was discussed in a review meeting chaired by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba on 12 August. From the minutes of the meeting accessed by media, he directed officials from different ministries to also give reasons if there was a delay in implementing the closure of such PSUs.

BJP MLAs to submit a memorandum to President Droupadi Murmu against the Aam Aadmi Party, demanding the dismissal of the Kejriwal government. On September 6, BJP MLAs will meet with President Droupadi Murmu to urge the AAP administration to be dismissed for several concerns, including accusations of corruption against its ministers. 

He said that Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has an FIR filed against him by the CBI for anomalies in the execution of the excise scam, while Delhi government minister Satyendar Jain has been in jail for more than three months. 

Cyrus Mistry (54) — who was born into one of India’s richest families and was chosen to succeed Ratan Tata as chairman of the Tata Group in 2012 and then removed four years later — was killed on the spot in a car accident on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad National Highway, about 110km from Mumbai, on Sunday afternoon.

His friend, Jehangir Pandole, whose family owned the soft drinks brand Duke’s before they sold it to PepsiCo, also died when their SUV, a Mercedes Benz GLC, hit the railing of a bridge over the Surya river at Charoti in Palghar district around 3.15pm.

Jehangir’s brother, Darius, and his wife Anahita, a well-known gynaecologist and tree activist — who according to local police, was at the wheel — sustained serious injuries, but are said to be out of danger. Darius was sitting next to her, while Cyrus and Jehangir were in the rear seat, raising questions as to whether the air bags had done their job. Police said the two at the back didn’t seem to have had their seat belts on.