Amit Shah says Cong’s VP pick Reddy’s 2011 verdict helped Naxalism
Naxal terrorism would have ended before 2020 if Reddy had not issued the 2011 verdict: Amit Shah
Naxal terrorism would have ended before 2020 if Reddy had not issued the 2011 verdict: Amit Shah
Naxal terrorism would have ended before 2020 if Reddy had not issued the 2011 verdict: Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday launched a sharp attack on the Congress-led opposition alliance’s Vice-Presidential nominee, former Supreme Court judge Justice B Sudershan Reddy, alleging that his 2011 judgment on Salwa Judum had “aided” the spread of Naxalism. He was addressing the Manorama News Conclave 2025 held at the Lulu Bolgatty International Convention Centre in Kochi.
Slamming the Congress candidate, Shah said if not for Justice Reddy’s ruling, Left-wing extremism would have been eliminated from India by 2020.
“Sudershan Reddy is the person who helped Naxalism. He gave the Salwa Judum judgment. Had that judgment not been delivered, Naxal terrorism would have ended before 2020. He was guided by the ideology that led to that verdict,” Shah said during a Q&A session at the conclave.
In December 2011, Justice Reddy had held that arming tribal youth as Special Police Officers—popularly called ‘Koya Commandos’ or part of the Salwa Judum—to combat Maoist insurgents was illegal and unconstitutional, ordering their immediate disarmament.
Shah further alleged that Kerala had “suffered” due to Naxal activities and said voters in the state would not overlook the Congress’s decision to nominate someone whose judicial legacy, he claimed, “strengthened extremist groups.”
The NDA has fielded Maharashtra Governor and veteran BJP leader C P Radhakrishnan, who has a background in the RSS, as its Vice-Presidential candidate.