New Delhi, Nov 12 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday condoled the demise of senior BJP leader and Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar.

Kumar, 59, died at a private hospital in Bengaluru in the early hours of Monday.

"Extremely saddened by the passing away of my valued colleague and friend, Shri Ananth Kumar Ji. He was a remarkable leader, who entered public life at a young age and went on to serve society with utmost diligence and compassion. He will always be remembered for his good work," Modi tweeted.

Describing Kumar as an able administrator, the Prime Minister said he was and was a great asset to the BJP.

"He worked hard to strengthen the party in Karnataka, particularly in Bengaluru and surrounding areas. He was always accessible to his constituents," Modi said.

"I spoke to his wife, Dr. Tejaswini Ji and expressed condolences on the passing away of Shri Ananth Kumar Ji. My thoughts are with his entire family, friends and supporters in this hour of grief and sadness. Om Shanti," he said.

Kumar was suffering from cancer and had come back from the US in October after treatment at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, New York.

He is survived by wife and two daughters.

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New Delhi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate on Monday sought time to file its reply on a plea by actor Jacqueline Fernandez seeking to turn approver in a Rs 200 crore money laundering case involving alleged conman Sukesh Chandrashekar.

Special Judge Prashant Sharma posted the matter for further proceedings on May 8.

The court had earlier on April 17 issued notice to the agency after the actor's counsel filed the application.

Fernandez, who was summoned by the ED several times in connection with the investigation, was named as an accused for the first time in a supplementary charge sheet filed by the agency.

On July 3, last year, the Delhi High Court dismissed her petition for quashing the Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) in the money laundering case.

Two months later, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the high court's order.

Delhi Police had booked Chandrasekhar for allegedly duping the spouses of former promoters of Ranbaxy, Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh, of Rs 200 crore.

There are other ongoing investigations against him in several cases across the country.

Chandrasekhar and his wife, Leena Paulose, facing proceedings in a money laundering case, were arrested by Delhi Police along with others.

The police invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case.

Paulose and Chandrasekhar were alleged to have used 'hawala' routes and created shell companies along with other accused persons to park the money earned as proceeds of crime.