Hyderabad: INDIA bloc’s Vice-Presidential candidate and former apex court judge B Sudarshan Reddy on Monday expressed grave concern over the functioning of the Election Commission, which he thinks is the biggest challenge the Indian Constitution is currently facing.
In his remarks at an event organised by the Congress and attended by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, party MPs, MLAs and MLCs in Hyderabad, Justice Reddy said that democracy in India would be in peril if the Election Commission continues to operate in its present manner. Justice Reddy criticized his rival’s absence from public discourse, noting that “his rival is not seen anywhere for him to engage in dialogue and debate.” “Every day I am speaking to the media. But my rival is not speaking.
A healthy debate would have taken place had he spoken,” he said.
“I am looking for a healthy debate between the contestants every day. This is not to belittle his absence, but to highlight how important open debate is for the health of our democracy,” he added.
Referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s allegation last week that he had supported Naxalism, Justice Reddy said: “One should read the Supreme Court judgment before speaking about it. “If you are referring to 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 said without naming Amit Shah.
Justice Reddy made it clear that while running as the INDIA bloc’s candidate, he will not formally join any political party, maintaining his independence. He stated that criticism would not deter him from his electoral bid, countering any strategy by opponents who might hope to discourage him through negative campaigning.
“At a time when constitutional systems are weakening, everyone needs to speak up,” he said. “Every citizen who votes has political opinions, either directly or indirectly. I have participated in every election and exercised my voting rights. I speak about civil rights, social justice, and directive principles,” he added.
Emphasising his constitutional commitment, Justice Reddy noted, “I have taken an oath on the Constitution five times. My responsibility is not just to abide by the Constitution, but to protect it. I am someone who follows the directive principles.”
Justice Reddy expressed alarm at the casual disregard for democratic processes, stating, “Some people think the voter list is just a piece of paper. ‘We have a majority, so we’ll make laws’—how is this acceptable? Ours is not a majoritarian state but a multilingual, multicultural, and multireligious state.”
