‘Surprised Shah raising it after 14 years’: Opposition VP pick Justice Reddy defends Salwa Judum ruling

The INDIA bloc, backed by AAP, has projected Reddy’s candidature as part of a broader “ideological battle” with the BJP-led NDA, which has fielded senior party leader CP Radhakrishnan.

Opposition vice-presidential candidate Justice (retired) B Sudershan Reddy has rejected Home Minister Amit Shah’s allegations that his 2011 Supreme Court ruling on the Salwa Judum vigilante movement prolonged Left-wing extremism. He also stated that the verdict was aimed at upholding the Constitution rather than sympathising with Maoists.

“The State has every right to fight the menace of violence, but it cannot outsource that responsibility to untrained civilians,” Reddy said in an interview with the Indian Express published Tuesday.

“The monopoly to wield weapons has always been with the State. In the name of combating violence, you cannot create another violent group. That was the essence of the judgment.”

He remarked that the Bench never supported Maoists, only the Constitution, “I was concerned with the preservation of the rule of law, protection of fundamental rights, and constitutional governance. We said the State has to carry out its responsibility through trained forces, not by creating militias.”

Reddy said he was “surprised” that Shah was raising the verdict after 14 years. “The mighty Home Minister of this country now says this judgment tied their hands. It never occurred to them when they were fighting the menace of Naxalism that this was the problem,” he remarked.

On Shah’s criticism of his order directing security forces to vacate schools in Maoist-affected areas, Reddy noted, “The mighty state cannot provide accommodation to its forces and so occupies schools, stopping children from studying? I said, no, this cannot be done".

"It was not me, it was the Constitution that directed me to say so. Children’s right to education cannot be trampled," he has further added.

Home Minister Shah, during an interview with ANI released Monday, had attacked the ruling.

“If Salwa Judum had not been stopped, Naxalism would have ended by 2020. The decision denied tribals the right to self-defence," he had stated.

He alleged the judgment reflected the Opposition nominee’s “leftist ideology” and added, “Those who sympathise with Maoists cannot understand the pain of tribal families who suffered violence.”

Reddy, however, insisted his candidacy should be seen beyond partisan lines, “The vice-presidential election is by secret ballot. MPs are expected to exercise their choice as per their conscience. I hope they consider my candidature on merit and the constitutional values I represent.”

The INDIA bloc, backed by AAP, has projected Reddy’s candidature as part of a broader “ideological battle” with the BJP-led NDA, which has fielded senior party leader CP Radhakrishnan.

The election is set for September 9, following Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s resignation.