HIGHLIGHTS

Following are the top stories at 9.20 pm NATION: CAL28 BH-NITISH-LD OATH (R) Nitish takes oath as Bihar CM for record eighth time Patna: JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar on Wednesday took oath as Bihar chief minister for a record eighth time in a no-frills ceremony at Raj Bhavan, a day after snapping ties with the BJP-led NDA and joining hands with the RJD to form a ‘Mahagathbandhan’ government.

DEL86 PM-LDALL OPPOSITION PM Modi taunts Cong over black clothes protest, says ''black magic cannot end your bad days''; ''Pointless issue'', retorts Congress Panipat/New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday took a swipe at the Congress over its recent black clothes protest against price rise, saying resorting to 'black magic' cannot end the opposition party's ''bad days'' and help it earn the trust of people again.

DEL97 CONG-LD PM-BLACK MAGIC 'Jumlajeevi' making pointless issue about black clothes: Cong on PM Modi's 'black magic' remark New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his ''kala jadu'' remark, saying while the country wants him to talk about their problems but ''jumlajeevi'' keeps saying just anything.

DEL96 NITISH-LD REAX Nitish switch: Opposition leaders call it 'timely effort' to forge unity among secular forces New Delhi: The JD(U)'s Nitish Kumar forming the government in Bihar after dumping the BJP was hailed by several Opposition leaders who called it a payback for engineering the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra and a ''timely effort'' to forge unity among secular forces.

DEL68 RAHUL-TRICOLOUR Rahul alleges ration card holders being 'forced' to buy national flag New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that ration card holders were being forced to buy the national flag by the shopkeepers, and accused the BJP of selling “nationalism” and hurting the poor’s self-respect.

CAL27 BH-SUSHIL-LALAN Nitish wanted to become vice prez, got angry when BJP refused: Sushil Modi Patna: Senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday alleged that Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar wanted to become the vice president and he dumped the BJP after the party failed to accommodate his ambitions.

BOM31 GJ-KEJRIWAL-LD WOMEN AAP promises Rs 1,000 monthly allowance for women in Gujarat; not revdi, says Kejriwal Ahmedabad: Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday promised a monthly allowance of Rs 1,000 to all women above the age of 18 years in Gujarat if his party came to power, and stressed that this was not a freebie. DEL76 CJI-2NDLD APPOINTMNENT Justice U U Lalit appointed 49th CJI, to take oath on Aug 27 New Delhi: Justice Uday Umesh Lalit was on Wednesday appointed as the 49th Chief Justice of India with President Droupadi Murmu signing his warrant of appointment.

LEGAL: LGD28 SC-LAWMAKERS SC to hear PIL seeking life ban on lawmakers after conviction in criminal cases New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to consider the PIL which has sought a lifetime disqualification of an elected representative following conviction in a criminal case.

LGD10 DL-COURT-GANGRAPE Delhi court dismisses bail application of accused in Kasturba Nagar gang-rape case New Delhi: A Delhi court has dismissed the bail application of an accused in a case where a 20-year-old woman was allegedly abducted, gang-raped, and paraded by a group of people in Kasturba Nagar in January, terming the offence as “serious and heinous”.

LGD26 SC-2ND LD NUPUR SHARMA Prophet remark row: SC transfers all FIRs against Nupur Sharma to Delhi Police New Delhi: The Supreme Court Wednesday provided relief to suspended BJP spokeswoman Nupur Sharma by clubbing all the FIRs lodged across the country and transferring them to Delhi Police in connection with her remark on the Prophet, saying it was inclined to follow the view taken by the apex court in Mohammed Zubair's case.

LGD25 UP-COURT-TYAGI Court reserves order on Shrikant Tyagi's bail plea in cheating case Noida: A court on Wednesday reserved its order on a bail application moved by politician Shrikant Tyagi, arrested for assaulting a woman resident in a Noida society, in a case of cheating for allegedly misusing the UP government symbol on his car.

LGD21 SC-2NDLD BHIMA KOREGAON-RAO Bhima Koregaon case: SC grants bail to 82-yr-old P Vararara Rao on medical grounds New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted bail to 82-year-old poet and activist P Varavara Rao, an accused in the Bhima Koregaon case, on medical grounds.

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