MP: Seminar featuring Digvijaya Singh, Shamsul Islam cancelled citing govt order
Indore, Mar 26: A seminar on the Constitution where writer Shamsul Islam and Congress leader Digvijaya Singh were going to speak could not be held here on Saturday morning as the booking of the auditorium was cancelled citing government orders, organizers said.
The Textile Development Trust, in a letter sent to the organizers on Friday, said the booking of its Jall Auditorium for the seminar 'Voice of Independent India' had been cancelled due to unavoidable reasons as per a government order.
Singh lashed out at the BJP government in the state, saying there was a threat to freedom of speech and expression in the country.
The seminar had been organised by Supreme Court lawyer Ehtesham Hashmi and state Congress spokesperson Aminul Khan Suri.
Digvijaya Singh, author and former Delhi University professor Shamsul Islam and historian Ashok Kumar Pandey were among the speakers at the event, the organizers said.
"We were going to discuss how the country's Constitution can be saved. The state government cancelled the seminar because the ruling BJP fears that discussing the Constitution may lead to unrest in society. There is now a complete threat to the freedom of expression in our country," Singh, who was to be the keynote speaker, told reporters.
Shamsul Islam said he was going to speak about the martyrdom of revolutionaries like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev. The memories of these great men were insulted by the cancelation of the event, he said.
Hashmi said he would approach the High Court against the auditorium management, administration and police over the cancellation.
Top police and government officials could not be contacted for comment despite several attempts.
A person at the Textile Development Trust office said its secretary M C Rawat was "busy in a meeting".
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge met a high-level delegation from Chile, led by Chilean Foreign Minister Francisco Pérez Mackenna, at Vidhana Soudha on Thursday to discuss collaboration in emerging technologies, clean energy, and startup ecosystems, officials said.
The delegation’s visit to Bengaluru, as part of its India engagements, underscores Karnataka’s growing prominence as a preferred partner for global collaborations in technology, innovation, and startup ecosystems, officials added.
The discussions reflected strong alignment between Chile’s evolving technology-focused growth strategy and Karnataka’s established leadership in innovation and deep-tech ecosystems, according to a statement.
Both sides explored opportunities to build partnerships that move beyond traditional sectors and focus on innovation-led growth, talent exchange, and market access.
The meeting focused on opportunities in renewable energy, including green hydrogen and sustainable industrial innovation.
Other potential areas of collaboration included marine biotechnology, aquaculture technologies, and AI applications across traditional industries.
According to the state IT minister, Karnataka is now a global hub for deep-tech, AI, biotech, aerospace, and advanced research, backed by one of the world’s strongest talent pipelines.
“As partners under the global innovation alliance, we must move beyond agreements on paper to actionable collaboration,” Kharge said.
“We are keen to work with Chile on startup exchanges, market access programmes, and building joint innovation corridors, including R&D centres, incubators, and accelerators. Chile’s position as a gateway to Latin America presents a significant opportunity for our startups to scale globally,” he added.
Officials said the engagement builds on the Letter of Intent signed between the Government of Karnataka and the Government of Chile during the Bengaluru Tech Summit, which established a framework for collaboration in startups, emerging technologies, research, and skill development under the Global Innovation Alliance.
Mackenna, Chile’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said the country is actively advancing its transition toward a knowledge- and technology-driven economy.
“Our engagement with Karnataka reflects our interest in building strong innovation partnerships that enable technology exchange, talent collaboration, and access to dynamic startup ecosystems,” he added.
“We see significant potential to work together in sectors such as clean energy, digital technologies, and emerging industries, while also strengthening Chile’s role as a bridge between India and Latin America,” he said.
