WWW.INDIANEXPRESS.COM The Liquid Drape A sari has always been about style and common sense. Now, women (and men) are reimagining the many ways to wear it PUNE, DECEMBER 14, 2025 DOwN IN JUNgLELAND BY RANJIT LAL One can spot harriers, Brahminy kites and, if you are lucky enough, Amur falcons in Goa’s Socorro LATE CITY 16+4 PAGES ₹7.00 D A I L Y F R O M : A H M E D A B A D , C H A N D I G A R H , D E L H I , J A I P U R , K O L K A T A , L U C K N O W , M U M B A I , N A G P U R , P A T N A , P U N E , V A D O D A R A Cm ANNOUNCES PROBE, APOLOgISES TO mESSI, fANS ‘CJI AS mASTER Of THE ROSTER… ROLE IS HEAVILY mISUNDERSTOOD’ Collegium far more open than it once was… room to do better: CJI ‘Trolling must be ignored... justice will suffer if we shift focus from duty to what’s being said on social media’ Ananthakrishnan g New Delhi, December 13 SIGNALLING CONTINUITY with reform, new Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant has said the Collegium system of judicial appointments is “certainly far more open and transparent today than it once was” and “there is always room to do better.” “Change is the only constant,andassocietyevolves,institutions must also adapt their mechanisms accordingly. The same applies to the Collegium system, which is certainly far more open and transparent todaythanitoncewas.Thereis, however, always room to do better,” he said. In an interview to The Indian Express, the CJI said that while the Collegium has evolved, “any system or practice, no matter how well-established, will at some stage require improvement”. He pointed to the introduction of ExPrEss interview JUSTICE SURYA KANT CHIEF JUSTICE OF INDIA in-person interactions with candidates as “a very welcome step”, adding that it allows members to “arrive at a more objective view.” Q&A ON P 8 “My focus on judicial appointments, whether to the High Courts or the Supreme Court, would be to place strong emphasisonmerit,experience, happening today integrity,andthetemperament required to serve as a judge,” said CJI Kant who took oath on November 24. “Going forward, I believe an even stronger emphasis must be placed on the credentials of the candidate — their merit, theirintegrity,andtheirexperience.Theseshouldremaincentral considerations in every appointment,” he said. On transparency, he noted that reasons are now increasingly being recorded for approvals and disapprovals, but cautionedthat“itiscrucialtostrike abalanceandalsomaintainthe integrity of the system”. OntheChiefJustice’sroleas “master of the roster”, he said »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2 ThE wOrlD l CONgRESS wILL hold a rally over its “vote chori” allegations at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. Party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi are likely to address the event. U.s. AnD UKrAinE to DisCUss trUCE in bErLin lCHILE HOLDS its presidential PAgE 14 run-off. Far-right candidate Jose Antonio Kast is set to become the country's most conservative leader since its military dictator Pinochet. INsIDE l A TOTAL Of 1.36 CRORE rural electors will vote for the zila parishad and block samiti elections in Punjab. The rural polls are significant as they come just over a year before the Assembly elections scheduled for 2027. TRACK THESE AND MORE ON www.INDIANExPrEss.cOm December 13: The Nation Remembers PM Narendra Modi, LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi and others at an event Saturday marking the 24th anniversary of the 2001 Parliament attack. PRAVEEN KHANNA LOCAL BODY ELECTIONS ThE cITY booK fEstivAL KiCKs off in PUnE PAgE 4 14/12/2025 103 131 162 90 UDF comeback in Kerala, BJP stuns ruling Left in Thiruvananthapuram Shaju Philip Thiruvananthapuram, December 13 THE RULING CPM-led LDF in Kerala was dealt a stunning blow Saturday ahead of the Assembly polls in the state, losing heavily to the Opposition UDF led by the Congress in elections to local bodies and surrendering the prized Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation after a 45year run to the BJP. The UDF made a strong comeback, winning or leading in four out of six corporations, 54 of 86 municipalities, 79 of E. WiLL oPEn sChooL in LALU’s ProPErty: bihAr DEPUty Cm PAgE 9 Messi tour Day 1: Chaos as angry fans ransack stadium in Kolkata; organiser held Soccer superstar escorted out in 20 minutes Tanusree Bose & Sayak Dutta Kolkata, December 13 CHAOS AND pandemonium broke out at Salt Lake Stadium inKolkataonSaturdayasthousands of football fans, angry and disappointed they could hardly catch a glimpse of Argentinian soccer superstar Lionel Messi at the stadium, tore down banners, hurled water bottles and chairs, and ransacked the ground. Messi is in India as part of his three-day ‘GOAT Tour’ across Kolkata, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi from December 13 to 15. Fans had paid for tickets ranging from Rs 3,800 to Rs 11,800, with many queueing up outside the venue since early morning. He arrived at the stadium at about 11.30 am and walked around the ground, but was surrounded by a barricade of security as well as VIPs, and others. Since fans in the stadium could not get to see him, they became restless, started shouting “We want Messi… we want Messi”, finally breached the barricades and stepped inside the ground. Despite repeated requests, the field was not cleared and the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner, who was waving at the fans, ultimately had to be escorted out at around 11.53 am. WhileformerIndiancricket team captain Sourav Ganguly was at the stadium and met Messi and shook hands, actor Shahrukh Khan arrived, but didn’t go inside the stadium. WestBengalChiefMinisterMamata Banerjee too was near the stadium. »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2 Wake-up call Its poor performance in the local body polls is a wake-up call to the ruling LDF given that Assembly elections are due next year. The Congressled UDF, which has been in Opposition since 2016, and BJP will now step up plans for the state polls. 152 block panchayats, and 504 out of 941 gram panchayats. »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2 ‘Waste of time & money’: How VIPs hijacked event, leaving fans fuming Sayak Dutta, Ravik Bhattacharya & Atri mitra Kolkata, December 13 FOR LIFELONG Lionel Messi fan Sabyasachi Ghosh (25), the triptoSaltLakeStadiumonSaturday morning was to be a pilgrimage, a chance to pay homage to the global football deity. By noon, he would stand stunned, his eyes searching for the5’7”Argentinewhoseposter adornedhisroom’swall.“Waste of time, waste of money,” was how he summed up the day. Ghosh’s anger was shared by the thousands who had turned up to be part of the opening leg of Messi's GOAT Tour. "I spent Rs 4,000 but couldn't even get a glimpse of him. Only if he had been allowed to walk around the stadium, we all could have at least seen him. I can’t afford to go abroad to watch him. The VIPs gotachancetobewithhimand click pictures," he said. Many paid much more, ranging from the highest ticket of Rs 12,000 to about Rs 3 lakh Lionel Messi signs a young fan’s T-shirt in Kolkata. PARTHA PAUL morE rEPorts, P 5, 15 in black. Once the fans realised that Messi wouldn't even kick theballanywhereclosetothem, all hell broke loose. It started with boos, followed by water bottles flying on the turf and bucket seats stripped from the concretehauledoverthefence. The sudden commotion caught the stadium security and police personnel off guard. As the word spread that Messi had left the stadium within 22 minutes of his grand entry, the »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2 fARmERS fEAR THE PLANT IN HANUmANgARH DISTRICT wOULD POLLUTE gROUNDwATER In Rajasthan, anger against ethanol unit boils over, farmers from other states join in Parul Kulshrestha ExPlAINED At the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata on Saturday. PARTHA PAUL Tibbi (Hanumangarh), December 13 A VIOLENT clash, hundreds namedinFIR,40arrestsandan echo in Lok Sabha — Tibbi, a town in Rajasthan’s Hanumangarh district, this week became ground zero for a protest that brought farmers from several north Indian states together against the construction of an ethanol plant. Their fear: the plant would pollute groundwaterandhinderfarminginone ofRajasthan’smostfertileareas. The past week saw a clash between police and protesters Protesters in Tibbi town of Hanumangarh district. PARUL KULSHRESTHA after the latter demolished a boundary wall of the underconstruction plant with tractors. The clash took place following a mahapanchayat by the protesting farmers. The clash was intense — protesters vandalised and set ablaze several vehicles, while police fired teargas shells and used lathi charge to bring them under control. A Congress MLA,AbhimanyuPoonia,who was at the site to support the agitating farmers, was injured. The plant’s management filed a complaint, following which an FIR was registered against 273 people. The Tibbi Circle Officer also filed a suo motu FIR against 108 people. As many as 40 people have been arrested, including two Congress MLAs, former MLAs and farmer leaders. One of the farmer leaders, Jagjit Singh Jaggi, said another mahapanchayat would be held on December 17 under the banner of the All-India Kisan Sabha and the Samyukta Kisan Morcha, where leaders such as Rakesh Tikait are expected, alongwithprotestersfromPunjab,HaryanaandUttarPradesh. On Friday night, however, the protest was “suspended” after the farmers and the administrationreacheda“consensus” on key issues. The mahapanchayat,though,willproceed as planned, farmers said. Theproposed40-megawatt grain-based ethanol plant is being constructed by Dune Ethanol Private Limited, a Chandigarh-headquartered »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2 l A SPACE WHERE FARMERS CAN PAUSE, SPEAK AND REFLECT At kisan mela near Pune, farmers make beeline to a quiet corner on mental health Rohit Yadav tionanditsimpactonhisfamily. At the bustling Kisan Mela 2025underwayinMoshi,about A FARMER from Latur, the 46 an hour’s drive from Pune city, year-old stopped at a pavilion whereagriculturalinnovations which had a chart with a meter and entrepreneurship are onitandthewords‘Kaimajhya being showcased, this one manat’ (What’s on my mind?). corner is quietly sowing the Putting down his bag, seeds of resilience. the father of three In collaboration PAGE 1 lookedatthepamphlet with the Institute for handed to him by a Psychological Health woman.Hewenttothe (IPH),aninitiativetitled extended space behind the ‘Cultivating the Mind’ has counterandsatdowntotalk.Of brought mental wellbeing into successive crop failures, sleep- theheartofoneofthelargestagless nights and his fears about ricultural exhibitions in the the family’s future. country, spreading awareness Anotherfarmer,a31-yearold about the role of mental health from Satara, opened up about in daily life. his struggle with alcohol addicDr Suvarna Bobade, a pro- Pune, December 13 anchor A pavillion set up by Institute for Psychological Health at Kisan Mela 2025 in Moshi. ROHIT YADAV fessional counsellor at the InstituteforPsychologicalHealth (IPH) in Pune, said of the Latur farmer: “He told us that unpre- dictable weather had caused successive crop losses and he would remain awake at night, anxious and panicky about his family’s future. Through guided discussion and relaxationexercises,hebeganidentifying his triggers and learning smalltechniquestomanagehis overwhelminganxiety.Herealised that his worry, while valid, had started controlling him and we taught him some basic ways around that.” Dr Vasudha Gokhale, also a counselling psychologist, said the Satara farmer struggling with alcohol addiction had his own worries. His wife had threatened to leave, and mounting debts had added to guilt and self-blame. “Hesaidhedrinkstoescape his thoughts, but now the thoughtshavebecomedarker,” Gokhale said. She guided him through the first steps of selfawareness and encouraged him to seek structured help for de-addiction.Shetoldhimthat seeking help is not a sign of weakness, it’s courage. Set up as a dedicated pavilion at this year’s mela, the IPH stall has become a space where farmers can pause, speak, and reflect. The initiative focuses on stress, emotional wellbeing, andmentalhealth–topicslong overlooked, not brought up in rural conversations. Each day, over 1,000 people have been picking up the pamphlets, and more than a dozen sit down to talk to counsellors. Bobade heads the core team. Counsellors, psychologists, and volunteers are engagingdirectlywiththevisiting farmers. “Every day, we meet over a thousand farmers who stop by to explore what mental health really means,” Bobade said. “Some just observe, some participate in our short activities, and over a dozen sit with us for counselling sessions.” “The most common issues they share are uncertainty, financialandtechnicalstress,addiction,anger,andanxiety,”she said. “Men make up nearly 90 percentofthevisitors,andthey often speak of silent suffering.” Agovernmentstatementlast Thursday,atthelegislativecouncilsessioninNagpur,saidMaharashtra recorded 781 suicide by farmers in the first nine months of2025duetoloans,cropfailure andexcessiverainfall. Counsellor Ravibala Lele, who has been part of IPH’s Triveni team for four years, said their message to farmers is simpleyetpowerful,“Paristithi badal nahin sakte, lekin manostithi badal sakte hain (We cannot change our circumstances, but we can change the state of our mind).” Lele said that while men »CONTINUED ON PAgE 2