Hyderabad, Sep 1 (IANS) One should read the Supreme Court judgment before speaking about it, INDIA bloc’s Vice-Presidential candidate and former apex court judge, Justice B. Sudershan Reddy (retd) said on Monday in response to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s allegation that he supported “Naxalism (Maoism)”.

Amit Shah had last week made the allegation while referring to the 2011 Salwa Judum judgement of then Justice Reddy.

“If you are speaking about the Supreme Court judgment, read it before speaking on it. It’s a Supreme Court judgement. Incidentally, I have authored it. Before me and after me, 11 judges heard that case, and no one has changed even a word, a full stop, a comma or a semicolon,” Justice Reddy (retd) said without naming Amit Shah.

In his remarks at an event organised by the Congress and attended by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, party MPs, MLAs, MLCs and leaders of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Sudershan Reddy said a debate has started on the judgment, and he was invited to the debate. “They thought if I were asked about this, I would be scared and back down, but I am prepared to face the challenge and enter into a dialogue with them,” he said.

“There should be a dialogue, but I have a request. Read the judgment. If I supported someone anywhere, I will bow down to respect your word,” he added.

He said that his entry into the fray is part of his journey with the Constitution. “My journey is continuing with the Constitution of India for 53 years. This is a part of the journey because the post of Vice-President is not a political post,” he said.

Stating that he has so far taken oath five times on the Constitution of India, he said on all these occasions he took the oath that he would bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution.

“The President and the Vice-President have to swear that they will defend and protect the Constitution of India as by law established,” he said.

Stating that there is no break in his journey, Sudershan Reddy clarified that he did not enter politics. “I am not a member of any political party and I will not accept membership of any party in future,” he said.

He, however, said it would be wrong to call him a non-political personality, as every citizen who owes allegiance to the Constitution and every citizen who votes will directly or indirectly have some political view.

“As a citizen, I have been casting a vote in every election, and as a member of a civilised society, I speak on various problems faced by society. I express my views on civil liberties, social justice and directive principles of the Constitution,” he said.

“Someone asked me in Delhi that somebody is calling you so and so. I said, Read the Directive Principles of the Constitution. The governments which implement Directive Principles of the Constitution, the policies they make…if it is that philosophy, I also belong to that philosophy,” he said.

He stated that the governments have the responsibility to implement Directive Principles, which talk about framing policies to ensure that there is no concentration of resources and to bring gender equality.

“If you are called so and so for demanding implementation of Directive Principles of the Constitution and speaking about them… Someone asked me if it hurt you, and I said I am not hurt at all,” he said.

Sudershan Reddy asked why National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate C. P. Radhakrishnan is not participating in a constitutional debate with him.

“I don’t know where the other candidate is. Every day, I am speaking to the media, friends, newspapers… If he had also spoken there, we would have had a healthy debate,” he said.

Referring to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, he said there are signs of the election process being in danger in the country.

Finding fault with the Election Commission of India’s approach, he warned that if this continues, democracy will be in peril. He recalled that when the voter list was prepared a month after the country’s independence, people became voters first and citizens later.

“How will democracy survive if the voter list is prepared at someone’s whims and fancies,” he asked and termed it a serious issue.

Sudershan Reddy also remarked that a law or a rule can’t be made just because the government has the majority. “Ours’ is not a majoritarian state. Ours is a multilingual, multicultural, multi-religious society. The Constitution does not give powers to anyone. Its job is to limit powers,” he said.

Referring to the concern voiced by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy over attempts to change the Constitution, Sudershan Reddy remarked that the Constitution can be subverted without changing it lock, stock and barrel. He cited the words of Dr B. R. Ambedkar that, however good a constitution may be, if those who are implementing it are not good, it will prove to be bad.

–IANS

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