kozhikode l monday l march 24, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION israel army steps up ground offensive in gaza strip Israel’s army pressed ground operations across the Gaza Strip on Sunday, urging Palestinians to flee an offensive in Hamas-ruled Rafah city Palestinian death toll crosses 50,000 ‘israel’s plans violate global laws’ More than 50,000 Palestinians have officially been declared to have been killed in the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the territory’s Health Ministry said on Sunday, even as new Israeli airstrikes killed at least 26 Palestinians overnight, including a top Hamas political leader and several women and children | P9 ■ ■ Israel’s Cabinet approved a proposal to set up a new directorate for advancing “voluntary departure” of Palestinians in line with Donald Trump’s proposal to depopulate Gaza Palestinians say they don’t want to leave, and rights groups say Israel’s proposal amounts violation of international law 13 new settlements in the occupied West Bank to be created by israel 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 Quota based on religion is against Constitution: RSS 110 megalithic structures discovered in Malampuzha Reservation possible only for backward classes in a religion: Hosabale D e v a r a j B H i r e h a l l i & RAJE S H K U M AR T H A K U R @ B’luru / New Delhi Former Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar flanked by BJP state president K Surendran, Union ministers Suresh Gopi and George Kurian and ex-state president P K Krishnadas at the BJP headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram before filing his nomination for party state president post | Vincent Pulickal Rajeev Chandrasekhar to lead BJP in Kerala E x p r e ss N e w s S e r v i c e @T’Puram After a protracted period of anticipation, the BJP’s central leadership has selected former Union minister and businessman Rajeev Chandrasekhar to lead its Kerala unit. The decision was finalised during a meeting chaired by BJP central observer Pralhad Joshi in Delhi on Saturday said party sources. The , BJP’s core committee met in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday to endorse this decision, with attendees including Kerala in-charge Prakash Javadekar and coin-charge Aparajita Sarangi, MP A formal announcement . is expected on Monday during the state council meeting in Thiruvananthapuram. O n S u n d a y, C h a n drasekhar officially submitted his nomination for the state president post before the returning officer, Narayanan Namboothiri, at the Do not dispose of phone, HC CJ tells judge Varma S h e kh a r S i n g h @ New Delhi DELHI High Court Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya has instructed Justice Yashwant Varma not to dispose of his mobile phone(s) or delete, modify, or tamper with any conversations, messages, or data. The directive conveyed through a formal letter dated March 21 follows an order from Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna, emphasising the need to preserve evidence. In a subsequent letter addressed to the CJI, Yashwant Varma Chief Justice U p a d hyaya said he had requested the Delhi Police commissioner to furnish call detail records (CDR) and internet protocol detail records (IPDR) of Justice Varma’s mobile phone for the past six months. “The call detail records have been received and are being forwarded in a pen drive along with this letter. As for the IPDR, the same shall be provided as soon as it is received from the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, or the relevant mobile service provider,” the letter stated. The developments come in the wake of a fire that broke out at Justice Varma’s residence on March 14, leading to the discovery of currency notes in a storeroom inside the judge’s official residence. BJP headquarters in the state capital. Party state president K Surendran and senior leaders Kummanam Rajasekharan, V Muraleedharan, P K Krishnadas, M T Ramesh, along with Union Ministers Suresh Gopi and George Kurian were present on the occasion. Given that Chandrasekhar is the sole nominee, his election on Monday is expected to be a mere formality . With former technocrat-turned-politician Chandrasekhar at the helm, the BJP is signalling its focus on securing the upper-caste Hindu vote base traditionally aligned with the Congress. According to sources, while Chandrasekhar may lack extensive grassroots political experience, he will likely function as a figurehead, focusing on the broader strategic vision. They indicate that the party might go in for an organising secretary to handle the day-today operations. ● More on P4 Amid the controversy over the Karnataka government’s decision to introduce a 4% reservation for Muslims in government contracts and projects, RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale said on Sunday that the move is untenable as the Constitution does not allow religionbased quota. “Reservation based on religion is not possible; it is possible only for backward classes within a religion,” he said. On the Kar nataka government’s decision to bring in a quota for Muslim contractors, Hosabale said such attempts were made earlier by Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, but those were futile as high courts set aside the decisions. “Religion-based reservation is not accepted in the Constitution authored by Babasaheb Ambedkar. Anybody doing it is going against the architect of our Constitution,” he added. The remarks by Hosabale, who holds the second-highest position in the Sangh hierarchy, were made in Bengaluru on the concluding day of the RSS’ annual Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, which serves as the highest decision-making body of the RSS. On the demand of Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal to remove the tomb of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Maharashtra, he regretted that Aurangzeb who was against the ethos of Indian culture is being idolised. “Aurangzeb’s brother Dara Shikoh was not made an icon. Are we going to move forward by idolising someone who has gone against the ethos of India or are we going to go with those who worked according to the traditions of this land? Aurangazeb doesn’t sit well here, but his brother does,” he said. On the Karnataka government’s resolution pressing the Centre to allocate grants for Scheduled Castes/Tribes in proportion to their population, he said any move for the betterment of society is welcome. Responding to a question on whether the RSS considers the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya as its achievement, he said the shrine is the achievement of the Hindu society as a whole. Hosabale appreciated the Centre’s move to set up the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Waqf properties to bring Waqf (Amendment) Bill 2024. On delimitation of Lok Sabha and assembly constituencies, he said RSS will not respond to the issue like the way political parties do. “Union Home Minister Amit Shah himself has clarified that there is no such proposal,” he said. Kumaraswamy to clear JDS stand today Janata Dal (Secular), an NDA ally, is reportedly in a Catch-22 situation as to whether to support the 4% quota or not. Sources said Union minister and JDS state president H D Kumaraswamy will make the party’s stand clear in New Delhi on Monday. “It is likely that JDS will support the BJP on the quota bill,” said a party leader EXPRESS READ Kodikunnil alleges being sidelined within party over his caste identity T’Puram: Congress leader Kodikunnil Suresh on Sunday opened up about his grievance of being continuously sidelined within the party due to his dalit identity. In an emotionally charged speech at the Dalit Progress Conclave organised by the Gandhigramam Project, Kodikunnil said he had even faced discrimination in the electoral race from a reserved constituency. P5 The site near Malampuzha dam in Palakkad where ASI officials found the megalithic structures | Archaeological Survey of India Pa r v e z S u lta n @ New Delhi The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has stumbled upon a cluster of over 110 megaliths (large stones used to build structures or monuments) near the Malampuzha dam in Palakkad during a recent exploration expedition. According to ASI officials, the discovery could offer more insights into ancient civilisations and their practices. Megaliths indicate significant burial sites, ritualistic areas, or places of cultural importance. Megalithic structures were built using large, rough stones without mortar or cement. Such chambers were common during Neolithic and Bronze Ages. The presence of ancient burial chambers suggests there could be a large or- ganised settlement at the site and it could shed more light on the region’s history . “Recent explorations near the Malampuzha Dam in Palakkad, Kerala, have led to a discovery of megalithic structures spread across island-like mounds. The team of ASI surveyed the area and came across more than 110 me g aliths spreading across 45 hectares of land,” the ASI posted on X. The ASI said most of the burials are of ‘cist’ variety — both single and multiple chambered — stone circles, urns, dolmens, and dolmenoids. “These structures are primarily constructed with massive granite slabs and boulders, some also incorporate laterite stones,” it added. Cist graves are small stonebuilt coffin-like boxes used to hold dead bodies.