Retired Justice B Sudershan Reddy, the INDIA bloc's Vice-Presidential candidate, has responded to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's allegations that he supported "Naxalism (Maoism)," advising him to read the Supreme Court judgment before speaking about it.
Amit Shah's remarks referred to a 2011 judgement on the Salwa Judum case, which the former judge authored. Without naming the Home Minister, Justice Reddy stated, "If you are speaking about the Supreme Court judgement, read it before speaking on it. It’s a Supreme Court judgement. Incidentally, I have authored it. Before me and after me, 11 judges heard that case, and no one has changed even a word, a full stop, a comma or a semicolon."
At an event organised by the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and other party leaders, Sudershan Reddy said he was prepared to enter into a dialogue with his detractors, but insisted they first read the judgement. "Read the judgement. If I supported someone anywhere, I will bow down to respect your word," he said.
Justice Reddy clarified that his bid for the Vice-Presidency is a continuation of his journey with the Constitution, not a move into politics. He stated, "I am not a member of any political party and I will not accept membership of any party in future." However, he added that it would be wrong to call him a non-political figure, as every citizen with allegiance to the Constitution holds a political view.
He also questioned why his opponent, National Democratic Alliance candidate CP Radhakrishnan, has not participated in a constitutional debate with him. “I don’t know where the other candidate is. Every day, I am speaking to the media, friends, newspapers… If he had also spoken there, we would have had a healthy debate,” he said.
On a broader note, Justice Reddy expressed concerns about the country's democratic process, citing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar and criticising the Election Commission of India's approach. He warned that “if this continues, democracy will be in peril”.
He also stressed that India is not a "majoritarian state," and that a government with a majority cannot simply make any law or rule it wants, as the Constitution's primary role is to limit power, not grant it. He quoted Dr BR Ambedkar, who said that even a good constitution can be rendered bad if the people implementing it are not good. He concluded by agreeing with Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's concern that the Constitution can be subverted without being formally changed.
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