Hyderabad: INDIA bloc Vice-Presidential candidate and former Supreme Court judge, Justice B. Sudershan Reddy (retd), on Monday responded to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s allegation that he supported Naxalism, urging the public and political leaders to first read the Supreme Court judgment in question.

The allegation referred to the 2011 Salwa Judum case, which Justice Reddy had authored. He clarified that the judgment, reviewed by 11 judges before and after him, had not been altered in any way.

Speaking at an event organized by the Congress in Hyderabad and attended by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, party MPs, MLAs, MLCs, and leaders of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Sudershan Reddy stated that he was prepared to enter into a dialogue on the judgment. He emphasized the importance of understanding the Supreme Court’s ruling before making claims and reiterated his lifelong commitment to upholding the Constitution of India, underlining that the Vice-President’s post is not political.

Justice Reddy highlighted that he has taken the oath to defend the Constitution five times and clarified that he is not a member of any political party and will not join one in the future. However, he acknowledged that every citizen engaging with the Constitution or voting inherently holds political views. He spoke about the importance of Directive Principles of State Policy and the responsibility of governments to implement them to ensure resource equity and gender equality.

He also questioned why NDA Vice-Presidential candidate C. P. Radhakrishnan had not participated in a constitutional debate and expressed concern over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, warning that such irregularities could endanger democracy. Stressing the Constitution’s role in limiting power rather than enabling majoritarian rule, he cited Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, stating that even a well-drafted constitution can fail if those implementing it are not virtuous.