Kochi, 22 Aug

Union Home Minister and senior BJP leader Amit Shah on Friday accused the Congress-led alliance's Vice-President candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy of "supporting" Naxalism, saying if he had not delivered the Salwa Judum judgement, extremist Left movement in the country would have ended before 2020.

He was speaking after inaugurating the Manorama News conclave organised by Malayala Manorama group here on Friday.

Shah said that, with the Congress’s choice of candidate for the Vice-President post, the party’s chances of winning in Kerala have further diminished.

"Sudershan Reddy is the person who helped Naxalism. He gave Salwa Judum judgment. If the Salwa Judum judgement had not been given, the Naxal terrorism would have ended by 2020. He is the person who was inspired by the ideology that gave Salwa Judam judgment," Shah said, referring to 2011 SC judgement on Salwa Judum, during a question answer session as part of the conclave.

In December 2011, Justice Reddy of the Supreme Court ruled that using tribal youths as Special Police Officers - whether called 'Koya Commandos', Salwa Judum, or by any other name - in the fight against Maoist insurgents was illegal and unconstitutional. He also ordered that they be immediately disarmed.

Shah said Kerala has faced the brunt of Naxalism. "People of Kerala will certainly see that the Congress party, under the pressure of Left parties, is fielding a candidate who supported Naxalism and used a pious forum like the Supreme Court," the Home Minister said.

The ruling NDA has picked Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan, a seasoned BJP leader from Tamil Nadu with an RSS background, as its vice-presidential candidate.

Shah responded to a question regarding the three recently introduced bills in Parliament, which the BJP describes as anti-graft legislation.

"There is nothing further to address on this matter. I have asked the people of the country in Parliament: do they want the Prime Minister to run the government from jail? What kind of debate is this? It is a question of morality. Now they are asking why it was not included in the Constitution earlier. When the Constitution was drafted, it was not anticipated that people who had been to jail would continue to hold elected office," he said.

The Home Minister referred to the arrest of Arvind Kejriwal on graft charges while he was Chief Minister of Delhi, and to his refusal to resign after being jailed.

"Now, there was an incident where a Chief Minister ran the government from jail. So, should the Constitution be amended or not? There was also a BJP government in power, but we never faced such a situation," Shah said, indicating that if Kejriwal had resigned following his arrest, this new bill would not have been introduced.

He also took a dig at Rahul Gandhi, claiming that the Congress leader had torn up an ordinance introduced by the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government in 2013, which sought to provide relief to MPs and MLAs who had been disqualified or convicted of a crime.

"At the time, the ordinance was brought in to help Lalu Prasad by Manmohan Singh. Rahul Gandhi, in the name of morality, tore up a cabinet-cleared copy of the ordinance in public. The same Rahul Gandhi is now seen embracing Lalu ji at Gandhi Maidan," Shah said.

Regarding the 'vote theft' allegation, the Home Minister maintained that after Rahul joined the Congress leadership, he saw constitutional matters with doubt.

On the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), a major overhaul of the electoral roll conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Bihar ahead of the 2025 Assembly elections, Shah accused the Congress of creating unnecessary controversy over the exercise. He claimed that the Congress had the opportunity to raise objections at the constituency, district, and state levels, but had not submitted any complaint on SIR so far.

Regarding the implementation of SIR in other states, he said that it was for the Election Commission to decide.

"The EC has decided to conduct SIR across the country. In Bihar's voters' list, there were 22 lakh people who had died. There is a possibility that bogus votes would be cast. So, should their names be removed or not? It is a matter of common sense," he said.