Mangaluru, Jan 31: The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) will contest in 100 seats in the coming assembly elections in Karnataka, SDPI state secretary Afsar Kodlipete said on Tuesday.
Addressing reporters in Udupi, he said the first list of the SDPI candidates has already been released. The party will contest eight seats in the twin districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi.
He said the JD(S)-Congress government and the BJP government had proved to be 'failures' in the last five years. The present BJP government is steeped in corruption, he alleged.
After the BJP government came to power, five percent commission is being sought for approval of projects and 40 percent commission to pass the bills, he claimed.
The SDPI leader further alleged that VHP leader Sharan Pumpwell was involved in all the murders of Muslims in Udupi and DK districts since 2016. He wondered why the state government is not taking action against his reported speech claiming that Hindu youths had murdered Fazil of Surathkal to avenge the killing BJP youth wing leader Praveen Nettaru.
He charged the BJP government with adopting a 'discriminatory approach' towards cases involving the murder of Muslim youths. While Praveen Nettaru murder case was handed over to NIA, the murder cases of Jaleel at Katipalla and Fazil in Surathkal were not handed over to central agencies, he said.
SDPI Udupi district president Shahid Ali and party candidate for Kaup assembly segment Hanif Muloor were present.
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Ottawa, Jan 29 (PTI): A Canada commission report has said that "no definitive link" with a "foreign state" in the killing of Canadian Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar was "proven", smashing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s allegations that accused the involvement of Indian agents in the killing.
In September 2023, Trudeau said Canada had credible evidence that agents of the Indian government were involved in the murder of Nijjar in British Columbia in June 2023.
The report titled "Public Inquiry Into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions' was released on Tuesday.
In the report commissioner Marie-Josee Hogue said "Disinformation is used as a retaliatory tactic to punish decisions that run contrary to a state's interests."
The report has suggested India spread disinformation on the killing of Nijjar.
"This may have been the case with a disinformation campaign that followed the Prime Minister's announcement regarding suspected Indian involvement in the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar (though again no definitive link to a foreign state could be proven)," the report said.
Nijjar was gunned down in Surrey, British Columbia, in June 2023.
The 123-page report also talked of expelling six Indian diplomats.
"In October 2024, Canada expelled six Indian diplomats and consular officials in reaction to a targeted campaign against Canadian citizens by agents linked to the Government of India," it said.
However, India expelled six Canadian diplomats and announced the withdrawal of its high commissioner.
The relations between India and Canada came under severe strain following Prime Minister Trudeau's allegations in September last year of the "potential" involvement of Indian agents in the killing of Nijjar.
New Delhi had rejected Trudeau's charges as "absurd".
India has repeatedly criticised Trudeau's government for being soft on supporters of the Khalistan movement who live in Canada. The Khalistan movement is banned in India but has support among the Sikh diaspora, particularly in Canada.
On Tuesday, India strongly rejected "insinuations" made against it in the report by a Canadian commission that investigated allegations that certain foreign governments were meddling in Canada's elections.
In a strong reaction, the MEA in New Delhi said it rejects the report's "insinuations" on India.
It is in fact Canada which has been "consistently interfering" in India's internal affairs, it said.