Personal Ideology Clothed In Constitutional Language: Amit Shah Slams Congress's VP Candidate Justice Sudershan Reddy For Salwa Judum Verdict

While addressing the Lok Sabha yesterday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah remarked that anyone who believes in the law and order of this country would never make Justice Sudershan Reddy their Vice Presidential candidate. 

In his speech, Amit Shah declared that India has become Naxal-free. 

The Home Minister addressed the context of Salwa Judum, which originated in 2005 as a state-supported mass movement in Chhattisgarh. He contended that when a judicial officer allowed personal ideology to shape a constitutional order, it resulted in the loss of thousands of innocent lives. He concluded that no ideology should ever be placed above the welfare and security of the tribal population.

While delivering his speech in Hindi, he said, "A member mentioned Salwa Judum... Sir, they take the side of the Salwa Judum judgment. Salwa Judum started in 2005 as a state-supported (government-supported) mass movement. Tribal youths were made SPOs (Special Police Officers), called Koya Commandos, and were trained to fight those who spread terror. It was decided to adopt the same 'ambush' strategy that the Naxals were using."

He added, "Now, I want to ask—who started Salwa Judum? Sir, it wasn't started by a BJP worker. It was started by Mahendra Karma, a Congress leader, who was eventually killed by Naxalites...On July 5, 2011, the Supreme Court, led by Justice Sudarshan Reddy in the Nandini Sundar and Others case, decided that this fight by the state against Naxalites was illegal and ordered the immediate withdrawal of weapons. What was the result, Sir? Their weapons were taken back, while the Naxalites still had theirs. They then picked out and killed those associated with Salwa Judum. And that same Sudarshan Reddy became the opposition's candidate for the post of Vice President."

"Shame... Shame...", members of the Parliament responded. 

Amit Shah added, "When the Congress Party asks what their connection is—this is the connection. Anyone who believes in the law and order of this country would never make Sudarshan Reddy their candidate. In our judicial system, a judge is considered neutral; that is the soul of our judiciary. But if a person, as a judge, uses their personal ideology, clothes it in constitutional language, and converts that ideology into an order that leads to the loss of thousands of innocent tribal lives—then I strongly condemn that judgment. And I also condemn those who made him a candidate."

He said that the ideology cannot be above the welfare of the people or the security of innocent tribals.

He clarified that the initiative did not begin with a political worker from his own party, but was led by Mahendra Karma, a prominent Congress leader who was later assassinated by Naxalites. Under this movement, local tribal youths were recruited as Special Police Officers (SPOs), popularly known as Koya Commandos, and received training to combat the terror spread by insurgents using their own ambush tactics.

Critical of past judicial interventions, Shah discussed the July 2011 Supreme Court judgment in the Nandini Sundar & Ors. v. State of Chhattisgarh (2011) case. He noted that the bench of Justice Sudershan Reddy declared the state's armed resistance through Salwa Judum illegal and ordered the immediate surrender of weapons by the tribal SPOs. The Minister argued that this decision left the locals defenseless, as the Naxalites remained armed and subsequently targeted and killed those who had participated in the movement.

The Bench, also comprising Justice Surinder Singh Nijjar, had held in the 2011 Judgment, "The response of law, to unlawful activities such as those indulged in by extremists, especially where they find their genesis in social disaffection on account of socio-economic and political conditions has to be rational within the borders of constitutional permissibility. This necessarily implies a two-fold path: (i) undertaking all those necessary socially, economically and politically remedial policies that lessen social disaffection giving rise to such extremist violence; and (ii) developing a well trained, and professional law enforcement capacities and forces that function within the limits of constitutional action."

The Home Minister also stated that the "Red Corridor," which once spanned across 12 states and affected 20 crore people, was effectively cleared of Naxalite influence. He credited this achievement to the strong political will and clear policies established by the government over the last decade.

The Home Minister detailed the extensive development projects that replaced the "reign of terror" in tribal regions like Bastar. He noted that the government constructed over 12,000 kilometers of roads and installed nearly 5,000 mobile towers to connect remote villages with the rest of the country. He also highlighted the establishment of hundreds of Eklavya Model Residential Schools and bank branches, which provided tribal youth with opportunities that were previously denied to them by Maoist insurgents.

"Maoists never allowed development to happen. We did not hold talks with Maoists; we eliminated them and pushed development forward. We built 269 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, 46 ITIs, 49 SDCs (Skill Development Centers), and 16 Skill Development Hubs. In Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, where there were no specialized facilities, we built a 240-bed Super Specialty Hospital", he said.

Regarding security operations, the Minister praised the coordination between the CAPF and State Police. He reported that several high-stakes operations, such as "Operation Black Forest," successfully dismantled permanent Naxalite fortresses. He provided statistics showing that while over 700 Naxals died in encounters over the last three years, more than 4,800 individuals chose to surrender and join the mainstream under the government’s rehabilitation policy.

Amit Shah also directed sharp criticism toward "Urban Naxals" and certain intellectual circles. He questioned why those who advocated for the human rights of armed insurgents remained silent about the 8-year-old children kidnapped by Naxalites or the thousands of security personnel martyred in the line of duty. He argued that true humanity lay in protecting the victims of violence rather than sympathizing with its perpetrators.