(“The approach of the author of this judgment, Justice Reddy, his ideological inclinations and leniency towards Maoism must be examined because he is contesting for the office of the Vice President of India — the second-highest constitutional post in the country".)
Retired Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy, who is now opposition candidate for the vice presidential polls, certainly reflected his "inclination towards Maoism". This allegation has been made forthwith by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Justice Reddy, along with Justice S S Nijjar, was part of an apex court bench that had in July 2011 ordered the disbanding of Salwa Judum.
The bench had ruled that using tribal youths as Special Police Officers in the fight against Maoists was illegal and unconstitutional.
"In India, the office of the vice president holds the second-highest position. Therefore, it is extremely important to understand the mindset and ideology of the person chosen for this post. Justice B Sudershan Reddy's 2011 judgement on Salwa Judum, clearly reflects his compassionate attitude and inclination towards Maoism," said BJP spokesman and former Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
The Home Minister said in a media interview there is a "record" vis-a-vis the court order.
It is a fact the judgement helped Naxalism get a fresh lease of life when it was virtually nearing its end, Shah has said.
"Amit Shah's remark against him is appropriate. Sudarshan Reddy's decision had dealt a major blow to the fight against Maoism, and today the same Sudarshan Reddy is the opposition's vice-presidential candidate," Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
In fact, the Home Minister also had said Rahul Gandhi owes an explanation to the nation for selecting such a candidate.
Shah had accused Reddy of "supporting" Naxalism. He had claimed that Left Wing Extremism would have ended by 2020 in the absence of the Salwa Judum judgement. Prasad said the then UPA government led by Manmohan Singh had supported the stand of the BJP government in Chhattisgarh in the Salwa Judum case. "But, the same party and its allies have now made him the candidate for the VP post," he said.
Defending Amit Shah's criticism of the 2011 judgement, Prasad said -- "Being a lawyer, I know that the laws give permission to analyse and review any judgment. There is nothing wrong with this."
Ravi Shankar Prasad also read out some parts of the judgement delivered in 2011.
In one part the verdict said: "The problem rests in the immoral political economy that the state endorses and the resultant revolutionary ....
At another part the text of the court order said -- The root cause of problem hence the solution lies elsewhere - the culture of unrestrained selfishness and greed ,,,, neo liberal economic ideology".
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