Social Democratic Party of India | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | SDPI |
| President | M. K. Faizy |
| Secretary | Alphonse Franko |
| General Secretary | Elyas Muhammad Thumbe |
| Founder | Erappungal Abubacker |
| Founded | 21 June 2009; 16 years ago (2009-06-21) |
| Headquarters | C-4, Hazrat Nizamuddin WestNew Delhi,India-110013 |
| Labour wing | SDTU (Social Democratic Trade Union) |
| Colours | Green and red |
| ECI Status | Registered, unrecognized[1] |
| Party flag | |
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| Website | |
| sdpi | |
Social Democratic Party of India, popularly known asSDPI, is an Indianpolitical party founded on 21 June 2009[2][3] inNew Delhi.[4][5][6]
The organization was founded byErappungal Abubacker fromKerala, who was arrested on charges of being the founder of the banned group Popular Front of India (PFI). He is alleged to be the mastermind behind PFI's plan to establish anIslamic nation in India by 2047 by overthrowing theIndian Constitution. Abubacker was among the first PFI leaders arrested by the NIA during their initial nationwide crackdown on the group. The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) was formed as the political wing of PFI.[7]
The SDPI held protests across India against theCitizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and burned copies of the bill.[8][9][10] InCoimbatore, Tamil Nadu, members of SDPI hoisted national flags at their homes and shops.[11][12] Kerala CMPinarayi Vijayan accused the party of using theCAA protests to create division.[13]
The SDPI supported protesting farmers in Delhi, and conducted statewide protests in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala. On 26 January 26, 2021 inCoimbatore, Tamil Nadu, party members carried a coffin made from banana leaves, bamboo trees, and vegetables to demonstrate that the farm laws do not safeguard the farmers' interests.[14] In Karnataka, SDPI members and others rallied inBelthangady to support the farmers' protest.[15]
In April 2015, the party protested a fatal police encounter with 20 workers fromTamil Nadu who were working in the state ofAndhra Pradesh. The SDPI accused AP police of cloaking their attack asself-defence and demanded that the government lodge a criminal case against the police officers responsible for the killings.[16][failed verification]
In February 2016, around 30 SDPI members attempted to hold a "sleeping protest" in front of the Divisional Office of the Department of Highways, demanding the repair of thePalayamkottai–Papanasam road in Tamil Nadu. Other political parties and the public had repeatedly appealed to the Department of Highways to have the 52-kilometre (32 mi) stretch of road re-laid. Officials had ignored the demands, wanting to re-lay only the stretches used by ministers and other VIPs during Tamil Nadu GovernorKonijeti Rosaiah's visit toManonmaniam Sundaranar University.[17]
In December 2016, the SDPI organized a nationwide campaign demanding the reconstruction ofBabri Masjid on its original site; the mosque had been demolished in December 1992.[18] During the campaign, theDakshina Kannada SDPI district president was arrested for inciting communal hatred with a skit about the demolition.[19][20] Protests were held inTamil Nadu,Delhi, andKarnataka.[21][22]
In March 2016,Mathrubhumi reprinted an offensive comment aboutMuhammad which had been initially posted onFacebook. The newspaper was forced to apologise after the party and other organizations protested outsideMathrubhumi's offices, saying that the post "hurt the sentiments of the community".[23]
On 28 April 2020, the Tamil Nadu SDPI filedpublic interest litigation (PIL) in the Madras High Court requesting the transport home ofTabligh Jamaat attendees from the state who were stranded in Delhi and other states. On 13 May 2020, the court directed the Tamil Nadu government to arrange transport and a quarantine facility for attendees stranded in Delhi.[24][25]
The party also filed PIL in Madras High Court on 16 April 2020 alleging media bias in coronavirus news,[26] seeking adherence with the Supreme Court's order to publish official information on the pandemic.[27]
Two orthodoxSunni groups accused the SDPI of extremism after the murder of a university student.[28]
NinePFI and SDPI activists were found guilty of killing aCommunist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI-M) worker in 2008.[29] SDPI activists were found guilty of murdering aMuslim Youth League worker inKozhikode.[30] SDPI members were arrested for the murder of aCongress worker inChavakkad.[31] Several SDPI offices have been raided by theKerala Police.[32][33] Suspected weapons-training camps and arms stockpiles were seized inNarath,Kannur district from the offices and other centres of the PFI and SDPI.[34][35] Although the party denied any involvement, the charge sheet filed by theNational Investigation Agency (NIA) blamed the PFI and the SDPI for conducting arms-training camps across Kerala as health-awareness camps and yoga classes.[36][37] According to theFIR, the 24 people accused in the case were members of the PFI and the SDPI. Cases were registered under sections 143, 147, 153(B), R/W[clarification needed] 149 of theIPC, section 5(1)(a) r/w 25(1)(a) of Arms Act, section 4 of the Explosives Act and section 18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.[38][39][40]
Four SDPI activists were arrested for an attack on two CPI(M) members in Mangalam,Tirur on 29 January 2014.[41][42] The SDPI accepted responsibility after a video of the violent attack was aired by major television channels. The party justified the attacks, however, saying that it needed to safeguard its members. According to the SDPI district president, the attack was an emotional reaction by its members to a CPM attack on one of its members that morning.[43]
A 23-year-old member of theRashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), aright-wingHindutvaparamilitary organisation, was killed in February 2021, allegedly by SDPI workers. TheBharatiya Janata Party, closely affiliated with the RSS, observed ahartal to protest the killing.[44] In December of that year, SDPI state secretary K. S. Shan was hacked to death by a group affiliated with the RSS.[45] BJP leader Ranjith Sreenivasan was then murdered in his home; police speculated that Sreenivasan's murder was connected to the previous two. SDPI leaders were arrested during the following days and all the accused were given capital punishment by the court.[46]
A private school inKaricode, Kerala, removed "Vande Mataram" from their 2014Independence Day programme after SDPI workers threatened to disrupt the programme; some of the song's words, they said, opposed Muslim religious beliefs. Fearing trouble, school authorities dropped the national song and anamaste gesture from a dance number. The issue sparked protests from the youth organisations of several parties. The SDPI justified the changes to the programme, saying that the party approached the school after several parents complained that some words in "Vande Mataram" and thenamaste gesture opposed their religious beliefs.[47][48]
On the night of 11 August 2020, violent clashes took place in the city ofBangalore,Karnataka. Provoked by aninflammatoryFacebook post aboutMuhammad which was shared by the nephew ofIndian National Congress state legislatorAkhanda Srinivas Murthy, a crowd ofMuslims arrived at his house for a protest which turned violent. Clashes between police and the crowd spread to the KG Halli andDJ Halli police stations. Acurfew was imposed, and three people were killed afterpolice opened fire on the crowd. Dozens of police officers and several journalists were injured by armed assailants, and Murthy's property wastorched during the violence. The following day, over 100 people werearrested. Some protesters were reportedly led by SDPI members, and several party leaders were arrested.[49]
On 31 December 2020, SDPI workers hadsedition charges filed against them, for allegedly shouting "Pakistan Zindabad".[50][51] The SDPI denied the allegations.[52]
Hijabs were brought to the attention of Karnataka media by Ansar Ahmed, district president ofKarnataka Rakshana Vedike.[53] TheCampus Front of India (CFI), the student wing of the PFI,[54][55] threatened a protest; this prompted the junior college to request a police presence.[53] The SDPI also reportedly threatened to protest.[56] College authorities met with the parents, and remained firm in their resolution not to allow religious attire.[57][58]
The SDPI Is represented in 17 Indian states:Kerala,Tamil Nadu,Karnataka,Andhra Pradesh,Goa,Maharashtra,Puducherry,Madhya Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh,Jharkhand,West Bengal,Bihar,Gujarat,Delhi,Rajasthan,Haryana,Manipur. The party has state- and district-level committees in most of the states,[59] and has been a presence in recent elections.[60][61] The party won 14 seats in four municipalities in a 2010 local election in Kerala.[62] It received over 24,000 votes in the Jangipur parliamentary election in Bengal, and won a seat in Goa.[63] The SDPI did not win a seat in Karnataka, but the state party president noted its alliances with theBahujan Samaj Party,Janata Dal (United) and theLok Janshakti Party.
The SDPI fielded 29 candidates in six states. The party's2014 Election Manifesto raised several issues about domestic and foreign policies, including popular needs, democratic rights, eradication of corruption,SCs/STs, minorities, a new national water policy, implementation ofRanganath Mishra Commission and Sachar Committee reports, and full literacy by 2020.
InKerala, the party ran candidates in Ponnani and Malappuram. In Karnataka, the SDPI – supported by Janata Dal (Secular) – contested in Dakshina Kannada. The JD-S extended its support "on the principles and ideologies laid by the party at the time of its (SDPI's) birth".[64] Of the parties who contested the2014 Indian general election in Kerala, the SDPI had the highest number of candidates (14 out of 20) with criminal charges.[65] In the 16thLok Sabha election, the party received 0.07 percent of the vote and did not win any seats.
The party contested for 15 seats in six states (Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,West Bengal, and Delhi) in the 2019Lok Sabha elections. In Andhra Pradesh, the SDPI contested for one Lok Sabha seat and fielded two candidates in theLegislative Assembly elections.[66] In Karnataka'sDakshina Kannada constituency, the SDPI received 46,839 votes (3.48 per cent of the vote).[67] In Tamil Nadu, the SDPI allied withT. T. V. Dhinakaran'sAMMK party in the Central Chennai constituency. SDPI national vice president KKSM Dehlan Baqavi received 23,741 votes (3.02 per cent).[68]
In the May2013 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, the SDPI contested for 24 seats; seven were in Dakshina Kannada district, and five were in Bangalore. Party state president Abdul Majeed stood against three-time legislator and former ministerTanveer Sait inNarasimharaja, a constituency dominated by Muslims.[69] Majeed lost the election by 8,370 votes, finishing second.[70]
The SDPI contested independently for 30 seats in the May2016 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election with a gas-cylinder party symbol.[71] The party received 65,978 votes (0.15 per cent), and did not win any seats.
The2016 Kerala Legislative Assembly election was held on 16 May to elect representatives of 140 constituencies. The SDPI fielded candidates independently in 89 constituencies;[72] it received 0.61 per cent of the vote, and did not win any seats.
The SDPI declared Abdul Majeed its candidate from the Narasimharaja constituency in the2018 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election,[73] but Majeed failed to win.
Karnataka (2023)
The SDPI contested on only 16 seats out of the initial plan to contest in 100 constituencies in Karnataka Assembly elections 2023.
The SDPI contested the2022 Tamil Nadu urban local body elections, and won one ward in theCoimbatore Municipal Corporation election.[74][75]
SDPI contested in 2018Ullal City Municipal elections and won 6 wards out of 31. SDPI also won 2 wards out of 60 in 2019Mangalore City Corporation elections. SDPI has governments in few panchayats as well inDakshina Kannada district ofKarnataka.
On 2022, Indian govt bannedPopular Front of India, the parent organization of SDPI.[76]
In March 2025, The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) national president M.K. Faizy.[77][78] ED also raided various SDPI offices nationwide.[79][80][81] On 21 March, one person from Coimbatore has been arrested.[82]