Justice Sudershan Reddy: I am Getting Support From Non-INDIA bloc MPs Too

Hyderabad: Opposition’s Vice-Presidential candidate Justice B. Sudershan Reddy (retd) said on Monday that his candidature was drawing support not only from I.N.D.I.A. bloc parties but also from parties outside the alliance.

Citing the Aam Aadmi Party’s announcement of its backing, he appealed to members of all political outfits to rise above partisan considerations and support him on the basis of merit, principles and the need to safeguard the Constitution. He expressed confidence that he would get the support of more MPs from all parties on September 9, since the the election will be held through a secret ballot.

He questioned why NDA candidate C.P. Radhakrishnan was not participating in constitutional debates. “Every day I am speaking to the press. If he too had engaged, we could have had a healthy dialogue,” he said.

Justice Reddy arrived in Hyderabad on Monday to meet Congress and Left leaders for support and later addressed the media.

He strongly rebutted Union home minister Amit Shah’s recent allegation that he supported Maoist ideology through the Supreme Court’s 2011 verdict striking down Salwa Judum. He said the judgment was authored by him but endorsed by a full bench of 11 judges, none of whom altered even a word or punctuation mark. He said political leaders making such charges should first read the judgment.

In the meeting attended by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, Congress legislators, MPs, and Communist Party leaders, Justice Reddy said attempts to malign the judgment would not intimidate him. “They thought I would be scared, but I am ready to engage in debate,” he said. He said that if evidence proved he supported any particular group, he would accept the charge and bow his head.

Explaining his decision to contest, Justice Reddy said it was part of a constitutional journey spanning over five decades. He recalled taking oath five times on the Constitution during his judicial career. The Vice-President’s post, he underlined, is not political but constitutional, and its holder must protect and defend the framework laid down by law.

He stated that he is not a member of any political party and would not accept such membership in the future. Yet, he maintained that it would be inaccurate to call him “non-political” since every citizen who votes and expresses views on civil liberties and social justice participates in politics in some form.

Raising concern over the Election Commission’s handling of electoral rolls, particularly the revision exercise in Bihar, Justice Reddy warned that democracy itself is endangered if voter lists are manipulated. He recalled that after Independence, people became voters in 1948 even before they became citizens in 1950 when the Constitution came into force.

“The whole edifice of the Constitution and democracy will be in peril, if this process is allowed. The constitutional obligation of the Election Commission of India is to ensure free and fair elections. Elections have become free, but the fair has disappeared. The seed for free and fair elections are the electoral rolls. Many forget that voting is a constitutional right. Exclusion is a straight and simple infringement of this guaranteed constitutional right. The right to vote is how you feel you are an integral part of the country,” he said.

Cautioning against majoritarian governance, he stressed that India is a multilingual, multicultural, multi-religious society where the Constitution’s role is to limit power, not to expand it. He warned that constitutional subversion can occur even without formal amendments if those implementing it act against its spirit.

Quoting Dr B.R. Ambedkar, the VP candidate said that no matter how good a Constitution is, if those entrusted with its implementation are not committed, it will fail.

Later, at a ‘meet the press’ event organised by the Telangana Union of Working Journalists, Justice Reddy, said an atmosphere of fear and apprehension has been created in the country and cited the example of how he, before filing his nomination, was advised to have his passport ready in case the returning officer sought proof of his citizenship.

“This is fear. The fear complex is haunting everybody, the educated, the uneducated, advocates, professionals, journalists, everyone. I am worried about what is happening in the country,” he said.

To a question on him being projected as a person representing ‘Telugu pride’ and if he expects support from Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, and from BRS president K. Chandrashekar Rao, Justice Reddy said, “I also represent Telugu pride. I have done nothing to harm the Telugu pride. Babu is a visionary leader. He has shaped the destiny of polity on more than one occasion. Jagan Mohan Reddy is also a formidable leader. I will reach out to them and seek their support. And since you named KCR who is a friend, I will appeal to him too.”