Daijiworld Media Network – Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 22: Union home minister Amit Shah on Friday launched a sharp attack on retired Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, the Congress-led INDIA bloc’s nominee for the Vice President election, accusing him of “supporting Naxalism.”
Addressing a public event in Kerala, Shah cited Justice Reddy’s landmark 2011 Salwa Judum verdict, which declared the Chhattisgarh government’s practice of arming tribal youth as ‘special police officers’ unconstitutional. The ruling ordered disbanding of the state-backed militia and urged addressing the root causes of Naxalism.
“Sudershan Reddy is the person who helped Naxalism. He gave the Salwa Judum judgment. If that judgment had not been given, Naxal terrorism would have ended by 2020,” Shah alleged, claiming the decision weakened India’s fight against Maoist insurgency.
He further said Congress had fielded Justice Reddy under pressure from Left parties and told Kerala voters, “The people here will certainly see that the Congress is backing someone who supported Naxalism using the forum of the Supreme Court.”
The comments echoed BJP sources who earlier told NDTV that Justice Reddy had “weakened” anti-Naxal operations and recalled how Congress and Sharad Pawar’s NCP had once opposed his appointment as Goa’s first Lokayukta, branding him a “yes man” of then CM Manohar Parrikar.
The Vice Presidential election, scheduled for September 9, will see Justice Reddy face off against the BJP-led NDA’s candidate, Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan. The contest has drawn attention for its southern overtones, with Radhakrishnan from Tamil Nadu and Reddy from Telangana.
Responding earlier this week, Justice Reddy urged restraint. “No personal attacks are expected. I won’t make any personal remark, and I hope Mr Radhakrishnan will also refrain,” he told NDTV, dismissing attempts to frame the election as a “Tamil Nadu vs Telangana” battle.
The new Vice President will succeed Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned last month citing health concerns.