chennai l Sunday l march 23, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 26 l late city EDITION rumble in the jungle silent forever: Foreman no more Former heavyweight champion George Foreman, who lost to Muhammad Ali in boxing’s iconic 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle”, died on Friday. He was 76 School dropout to a world champion Born in Texas on January 10, 1949, George Foreman grew up in Houston. The man who raised him was frequently absent and often drunk. Fondly known as Big George, he dropped out of school and despite facing adversities went on to become an Olympic gold medallist, two-time world champion and a legend of boxing Muhammad Ali (left) squares up against George Foreman in 1974 | AP 81 Big figures including Trump pay respects ■ US President Donald Trump said “GREAT FIGHTER” whom he “knew well”. Legendary promoter Bob Arum saluted Foreman as “one of the biggest punchers and personalities the sport has ever seen.” ■ “His contribution to boxing and beyond will never be forgotten,” former champion Mike Tyson wrote on X He fought 81 times as a professional, winning 76, 68 of those by knockout CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Delimitation meet proposes broad fight, freezing LS seats for 25 years First JAC meet resolves to submit representation to PM; State Assemblies to pass resolution Alleged dirty money CJI forms 3-member panel to probe charges against Delhi HC judge s u c h it r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi Centre planning delimitation without consultation as it is driven by “narrow political interests” and not by Constitutional principles or democratic imperatives Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan We won’t accept populationbased delimitation as states like UP, Rajasthan, Bihar, and MP will then dominate rest of the country. We cannot accept it at any cost Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy Though the number of seats in Punjab may go up, the state’s percentage of seats in LS may drop from 2.39% to 2.11%, if the total LS seats are increased to 850 Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Karnataka, TN, and every progressive state in this room face a stark choice: submit to domination or rise in resistance. We have chosen resistance K’taka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar Delimitation based only on population will be unfair to the states that have worked hard to reduce their population growth rates in line with national priorities BJD president Naveen Patnaik States should insist that their current proportionate representation in the LS is maintained, regardless of whether the number of seats goes up or not Deputy CM Udhayanidhi Stalin (From right) Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy, Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, BRS working president K T Rama Rao and other JAC members in Chennai on Saturday | PTI K Ez h i l a r a s a n @ Chennai The first Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting on delimitation convened by DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution demanding that the freeze on the parliamentary constituencies based on the 1971 Census population be extended by another 25 years as it was done in 2001. The meeting in which Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, his Telangana and Punjab counterparts, Revanth Reddy and Bhagwant Mann, respectively, Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, and around 20 other leaders of different parties from six states took part, also laid a road map for taking forward the fight legally and politically . The resolution pointed out that the 42nd, 84th, and 87th constitutional amendments, which delayed populationbased delimitation at various points in the past, were to protect/incentivise states that had implemented population control measures effectively . It said there is a need to extend the freeze by another 25 years since the goal of national population stabilisation has not been achieved yet. Saying that the states whose population share came down Protest is only for ‘fair delimitation’: Stalin DMK raising emotional issues eyeing polls: FM Chennai: This protest is not against delimitation. I think everyone will agree that this protest is for ‘fair delimitation’, said Chief Minister M K Stalin. He also said a legal option could be explored and favoured setting up of an expert panel to draw up the political and legal action plan on the delimitation issue | P4 Chennai: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday charged the DMK with raising “emotional” issues like alleged Hindi imposition and delimitation as the Dravidian party has nothing to showcase as its achievements before the voters during the next year’s Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu | P4 due to the population control programme should not be penalised, the resolution also urged the union government to enact necessary constitutional amendments for this purpose. The JAC expressed concern on the alleged lack of transparency and clarity in the impending delimitation exercise from the union government and the absence of consultation with various stakeholders. It appreciated CM Stalin for taking up this initiative to “safeguard the political and economic future of the performing states in India,” a release from the state government later said. “Any delimitation exercise carried out by the union government to improve the content and character of democracy should be carried out transparently, enabling political parties of all the states, state governments and other stakeholders to deliberate, discuss and contribute to it,” the resolution said. It said a core committee consisting of MPs from the represented states will coordinate parliamentary strategies to counter any attempts by the union government to undertake a delimitation exercise contrary to the principles articulated by the JAC. The committee will submit a joint representation to the PM during the ongoing parliamentary session. It was also decided the parties taking part in the meet would initiate efforts to bring appropriate resolutions in their respective Legislative Assemblies in this regard. Telangana CM Revanth Reddy proposed that the next meeting of the JAC be conducted in Hyderabad. P7 CHIEF Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna on Saturday constituted a three-member committee to probe into the allegations of illegal cash stash in the house of Justice Yashwant Varma, a Delhi High Court judge. The CJI constituted the committee after receiving a report from Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya, Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court, in the matter. The CJI had on Friday directed Justice Upadhyaya to initiate an in-house enquiry into the allegations. Besides, the CJI is exploring the possibility of Justice Varma’s transfer. Later in the day the Supreme , Court released 25 pages of documents, including the response of Justice Varma, the Delhi HC Chief Justice Upadhyaya’s recommendation for a probe to the CJI, photos and the fire depart- e x p r e s s n e w s s e r v i c e @ Chennai In an exclusive interview to TNIE, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu said the state is working towards achieving the ambitious goal of trillion-dollar economy by 2030 as the GSDP (Gross State Domestic Product) is growing at an average rate of 19.9% (in current prices) from 2021. “This growth rate is higher than that of Maharashtra or Karnataka,” he said. Explaining the reason for the rise in state debt, the minister said Tamil Nadu is constrained to borrow more as the state’s financial autonomy has been PIC: P Jawahar Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu clipped by the union government, through measures like GST and Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana, and due to drop in devolution of central funds. “Though TN accounts for 9% of the country’s GDP, the total funds we receive from the un- express read Rain batters south TN; showers likely for 2 days Chennai: Southern parts of TN experienced heavy to moderate rainfall on Saturday, with Thoothukudi recording 8 cm in 24 hours. The Met Department has forecast light to moderate rainfall over parts of Tamil Nadu for the next two days | P5 P r a s a n ta M a zu m d a r @ Guwahati Corrupt hubby’s wife party to crime, says HC stars light up knight sky Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli perform a gig during the Opening Ceremony of the IPL in Kolkata on Saturday. Chasing 175, RCB won the first match beating Kolkata Knight Riders by seven wickets | AP Madurai: Spouses must discourage husbands from accepting bribes, observed the Madurai HC Bench while sentencing a former Customs superintendent and his wife to four years of rigorous imprisonment in a DA case | P4 Sensitisation Mind your language on elephants, media urged EJA Z KA I SER @ Raipur In their race for sensational news to grab viewed eyeballs, certain media organisations tend to go overboard, using inappropriate adjectives for human-animal conflicts. Take elephants. Some media persons in the Hindi heartland dramatise reportage on their conflict with humans by describing the gentle giants as aatanki (terrorist), utpaati (oppressor), hatyaara (murderer), hinsak (violent), pagal (mad), bigdail (spoilt), gussail (irascible) and ziddi (stubborn). It disturbed the Chhattisgarh Fo re s t D e p a r t m e n t enough to issue an advisory expressing their dismay over the frequent use of such inappropriate words. Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Prem Kumar said such metaphors strike fear among the people and create a negative percep- WITH THIS ISSUE The Ugly Indian Tourist PLUS 12 PAGES FM: Trillion-dollar goal achievable, TN’s GSDP growth better than Maha, K’taka SC team visits strife-torn regions of Manipur, asks locals to hold on to hope virtually inaugurated free legal services camps and medical A delegation of Supreme Court camps on the occasion. judges led by Justice B R Gavai The delegation also comvisited Manipur on Saturday prised Justices Vikram Nath, and expressed hope that peace M M Sundresh, K V Viswanathwill return to the state roiled by an and N Kotiswar Singh. Howethnic violence sooner rather ever, Justice Singh, who bethan later. longs to the Meitei community , “We know that all of you are chose not to visit the Kuki-magoing through a diffijority Churachandpur cult phase. But with district over an objecthe assistance of evetion raised by a lawryone — the executive, yers’ body there. the legislature and the We know that all Later, the judges of you are going judiciary — this phase paid a visit to relief will be over within a through a difficult camps in the Bishnuphase. But with short period,” Justice pur district of the ImGavai told a gathering the assistance of phal Valley and met everyone — the in Churachandpur. with those staying executive, the “It is our Constituthere. While talking to legislature and tion that has kept us the media, Justice the judiciary — united and strong. this phase will be Singh exuded confiHave faith in our Con- over within a short dence that their visit period stitution. The Constito the strife-torn state tution will ensure that would offer the resiJustice B R Gavai peace returns to Madents a ray of hope for nipur one day he said. ,” their future. Justice Gavai, who is the execu“We must look forward to a tive chairman of the National brighter future where we can Legal Services Authority, add- live together. It may take time, ed, “Our Constitution aims at but we must have that hope. We justice — social, economic and must all be positive,” he said. political. The Constitution Since May 2023, hundreds of aims for all citizens in the coun- people have been killed and try to have access to justice in a thousands rendered homeless speedy manner and at an af- in violence between the Meiteis fordable rate.” Justice Gavai and the Kuki-Zo groups. ment’s video purportedly showing what appeared to be partially burnt currency notes. Justice Upadhyaya’s letter says since the room that caught fire on March 15 was cleaned up the next day, “I am of the prima facie opinion that the entire matter warrants a deeper probe” because no outsider had access to it. For his part, Justice Varma claimed he had no access to the room that was unlocked and outside his dwelling. The panel constituted by the CJI comprises Justice Sheel Nagu, Chief Justice of the High Court of Punjab & Haryana, Justice G S Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh, and Justice Anu Sivaraman, judge of the Karnataka High Court. The Delhi CJ has been asked not to assign any judicial work to Justice Varma, as per a Supreme Court release. tion about the pachyderms. Chhattisgarh is the first state to voice concerns about the use of such negative language for elephants in news reports about animals wreaking havoc on agricultural fields and rampaging through areas populated by humans. The forest department’s plea for toning down the rhetoric against elephants comes at a time when concerns about human-animal conflict remain high. “Elephants hold great significance in India. They are an integral part of our culture, religious beliefs and traditions. Therefore, a conflict between us and elephants must not be presented as a confrontation,” the officer said, stressing the need to promote coexistence. Elephants are described as a “keystone species” and “ecosystem engineers”, thanks to the key role they play in maintaining the ecological balance in forests. ion government, as a share of our GSDP, have come down from 3.41% in 2016-17 to just 1.96% in 2025-26. The ever-increasing cess collected by the centre is also not shared with the states,” he said. The shrinking avenues to mobilise resources are forcing us to go for borrowing while we try to maximise our own revenues, he said. Tamil Nadu’s debt to GSDP ratio is 26.43% as per the revised estimates (RE) for 2024-25 and it will be 26.07% in 2025-26 as per budget estimates (BE). This is well within the 28% limit set by the 15th Finance Commission, he said.  FULL INTERVIEW ON P2 Rioters could face bulldozer action: Fadnavis Su d h i r Su r ya w a n s h i @ Mumbai Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday warned of bulldozer action against the Nagpur rioters if they fail to pay the damages incurred during the recent communal riots. It flew in the face of a Supreme Court ruling in November last year that demolishing properties solely because occupants are accused or convicted of crimes, without due process, is unconstitutional. Fadnavis, after taking stock of the situation, said that his government would recover the cost of damages to properties during the clashes from the rioters. “If the rioters fail to pay up, bulldozer action will be initiated. We would seize their properties and sell them to recover the damage,” he said, and added that the compensation for the riot victims would be distributed soon. The CM held a meeting with senior officers at the police commissioner’s office and reviewed the police response to the riots. He said that no one would be spared for attacking the police. “My government will not rest until those responsible for attacking the police are found and dealt with sternly he said. ,”