HYDERABAD l Sunday l march 23, 2025 l `12.00 l PAGES 24 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 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 81 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 Stalin: Protest only for ‘fair delimitation’ 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 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 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 is increased to 850 Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann, Telangana CM A Revanth Reddy, CM M K Stalin, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and BRS leader KT Rama Rao along with other JAC members in Chennai on Saturday | PTI K E z h i l a r a s a n @ Chennai The first Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting on delimitation convened by DMK supremo 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, Karnataka Deputy CM D K Shivakumar, and around 20 other leaders 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 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 en, abling 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. P5 SC team visits strife-torn regions of Manipur, asks locals to hold on to hope P r a s a n ta M a z u m d a r @ Guwahati A delegation of Supreme Court judges led by Justice B R Gavai visited Manipur on Saturday and expressed hope that peace will return to the state roiled by ethnic violence sooner rather than later. “We know that all of you are going through a difficult phase. But with the assistance of everyone — the executive, the legislature and the judiciary — this phase will be over within a short period,” Justice Gavai told a gathering in Churachandpur. “It is our Constitution that has kept us united and strong. Have faith in our Constitution. The Constitution will ensure that peace returns to Manipur one day,” he said. Justice Gavai, who is the executive chair- We know that all of you are going through a difficult phase. But with the assistance of everyone — the executive, the legislature and the judiciary — this phase will be over within a short period Justice B R Gavai man of the National Legal Services Authority added, “Our Constitution , aims at justice — social, economic and political. The Constitution aims for all citizens in the country to have access to justice in a speedy manner and at an affordable rate.” Justice Gavai virtually inaugurated free legal services camps and medical camps on the occasion. The delegation also comprised Jus- tices Vikram Nath, M M Sundresh, K V Viswanathan and N Kotiswar Singh. However, Justice Singh, who belongs to the Meitei community, chose not to visit the Kuki-majority Churachandpur district over an objection raised by a lawyers’ body there. Later, the judges paid a visit to relief camps in the Bishnupur district of the Imphal Valley and met with those staying there. While talking to the media, Justice Singh exuded confidence that their visit to the strifetorn state would offer the residents a ray of hope for their future. “We must look forward to a brighter future where we can live together. It may take time, but we must have that hope. We must all be positive,” he said. Girl returning after taking Addl SP on morning walk SSC exam killed in accident mowed down by RTC bus when the accident occurred. Half-way through the flyover, Just two minutes away from the double-decker bus hit their her home, a Class 10 student lost bike from behind. Sumith reher life in a road accident on the portedly fell on the right side Gachibowli flyover after and escaped with mibeing hit by a doublenor injuries, while decker bus belonging to Prabhavathi fell on HMDA on Saturday afthe left side and was ternoon. The victim was run over by the bus. identified as Prabha“Her home is just vathi Chathriya. two minutes away According to Raidurfrom the accident gam police, Prabhavathi spot,” a Raidurgam had just finished her police official told second language exam TNIE. Prabhavathi at ZPH School, Dargah, Police confirmed Chathriya at 12.30 pm and was that Sumith was heading home to TNGO Colony wearing a helmet and sus, Gachibowli, with her brother, tained minor injuries. PrabSumith Chathriya (21), on a havathi, however, sustained a bike. She was riding pillion severe head injury. C h i t h a l u r i R e v a n t h @ Hyderabad E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad A 57-year-old additional superintendent of police (SP) rank officer, TM Nandeeswara Babji, was killed in a road accident after a speeding APSRTC hit him on Saturday around 4.40 am under Hayathnagar police station limits. According to Hayathnagar police, Babji was on his routine walk when the accident occurred near Laxma Reddypalem, close to Hanuman temple. While crossing the road, he was hit by an APSRTC bus. He sustained severe head injuries and died on the spot. The collision was so intense that the front glass of the bus was significantly damaged, indicating the high speed at which it was going. The police have registered a case against the driver for rash and negligent driving, and a probe is on. Rachakonda Commissioner G Sudheer Babu expressed his condolences, recalling Babji’s service as a DSP in the Rachakonda commissionerate before his transfer to the DGP office as Additional SP . This protest is not against delimitation. I think everyone will agree that this protest is for ‘fair delimitation’, said Stalin. He also said a legal option could be explored and favoured setting up of an expert panel to draw up an action plan DMK raises emotional issues eyeing polls: FM Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman charged the DMK with raising “emotional” issues like Hindi imposition and delimitation as it has nothing to showcase as its achievements before the voters during the next year’s elections Fighting north domination? Raise South’s LS share to 33% if delimitation inevitable: CM E x p r e s s N e w s S e r v i c e @ Hyderabad Accusing the BJP-led NDA government of enforcing a ‘demographic penalty’ through delimitation, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy asserted that the South would not accept a population-based or pro rata formula-based delimitation. He demanded that the South’s representation in the Lok Sabha be increased by 33% from the current 24% if delimitation is inevitable, warning that anything less would reduce the region to a “passive audience” in India’s political landscape. “If BJP conducts delimitation based on population, South will lose political voice and the North will relegate us to secondary citizens. States like UP , Bihar, MP and Rajasthan will dominate the country . We cannot accept this at any cost,” he declared at the first JAC meeting of states over delimitation, hosted by the DMK in Chennai Saturday . Addressing the meeting which was attended by the chief ministers of TN, Kerala and Punjab, Revanth criticised the Centre’s alleged discrimination against the South. He submitted a document representing his party’s and Telangana’s stance. Additionally he proposed that Hyderabad will , host the next JAC meeting on delimitation, tentatively scheduled for mid-April. The chief minister outlined alternatives for fair delimitation: “Modi can follow Vajpayee’s method — no increase in LS seats for 25 years. Conduct delimitation within states, adjusting boundaries based on the latest census. Increase SC/ST seats and ensure 33% women representation in every state.” Remarking that delimitation will “politically limit” the South, he argued that it would punish the region for its strong performance. “We must stop BJP from implementing any unfair delimitation,” he said.  Continued on P4 a threat to South: KTR Calling the Centre’s proposed delimitation policy a threat to southern states, BRS working president KT Rama Rao said it risks undermining their economic contributions, governance achievements, & democratic representation. He urged the Centre to reconsider the approach, warning against turning democracy into “authoritarian mobocracy” | P4 CJI forms 3-member panel to probe charges against Delhi HC judge s u c h i t r a k a lya n m o h a n t y @ New Delhi 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 department’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. express read Unseasonal rains wreak havoc in Telangana Hyderabad: Untimely rains accompanied by hailstorms wreaked havoc in the state on Friday, not only bringing down the temperatures but also causing widespread destruction of crops. Five districts experienced hailstorms, while Hyderabad among other places witnessed rains and thundershowers | P2 US revokes legal status for 5 lakh immigrants Hyderabad: The United States said Friday it was terminating the legal status of hundreds of thousands of immigrants, giving them weeks to leave the country. President Donald Trump has pledged to carry out the largest deportation campaign in US history and curb immigration, mainly from Latin American nations. | P9 W ITH THI S I S S UE The Ugly Indian Tourist PLUS 12 PAGES