Opposition vice-presidential candidate and former Supreme Court judge B. Sudershan Reddy on Saturday hit back at Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s charge that he had “helped Naxalism” through the Salwa Judum judgement. Reddy clarified that though the judgment was authored by him, it was not his personal judgement and was delivered by the Supreme Court.
Reacting to Amit Shah’s criticism of the Salwa Judum verdict, Reddy said: “I do not wish to join an issue directly with the Honourable Home Minister of India, whose constitutional duty and obligation is to protect the life, liberty and property of every citizen, irrespective of ideological differences.”
“Secondly, I have authored the judgement. The judgement is not mine, the judgement is of the Supreme Court,” he added.
Reddy further stated that he wished Shah had read the entire judgment, which runs up to 40 pages. “If he had read the judgement, perhaps he would not have made that comment. That’s all I say and leave it there… There must be decency in the debate,” he asserted.
VIDEO | Reacting to Home Minister Amit Shah’s ‘Supporting Naxalism’ remarks, Opposition Vice Presidential Candidate B Sudershan Reddy says, “I do not wish to join an issue directly with the Home Minister of India, whose constitutional duty and obligation is to protect the life,… pic.twitter.com/HqGikkH1wu
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 23, 2025
Shah Accuses Reddy Of ‘Helping’ Naxalism
Reddy’s remarks came a day after Shah, while speaking at an event, targeted the INDIA bloc’s candidate, alleging that Reddy’s ruling on Salwa Judum had strengthened Naxalism, which otherwise would have been wiped out by 2020 “if that judgment had not been passed.”.
“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,” news agency PTI quoted Amit Shah as saying.
He further linked the issue to Kerala politics, accusing Congress of acting “under the pressure of Left parties” by fielding a candidate “who supported Naxalism and used a pious forum like the Supreme Court.”
Shah was referring to Reddy’s 2011 Supreme Court verdict that declared the practice of deploying tribal youths as Special Police Officers, who are popularly known as Koya Commandos or Salwa Judum, to fight Maoist insurgents. The verdict ruled the policy as illegal and unconstitutional and directed that the SPOs be immediately disarmed.
The remarks come ahead of the Vice Presidential election on September 9 where Reddy will face NDA candidate CP Radhakrishnan.
