Want to get elected as VP to protect Constitution: Sudershan Reddy

Interview of opposition Vice Presidential candidate Justice (retired) B Sudershan Reddy (Excerpts)

What led you to join the VP post contest in times considered to be highly polarised?

Society is getting increasingly polarised. This must be stopped because I believe the biggest threat doesn’t come from govts alone in a democracy but the threat comes from citizens themselves when they try to divide society on the basis of religion, caste, language and region. To arrest this tendency I thought of contesting this election.

I am a liberal Constitutional democrat and I want to get elected as the VP of the country to defend and protect the Constitution of India . Hitherto my duty was to uphold the Constitution. That is the distinction between the oath administered to a judge and Vice President and President of India.

What do you have to say about the talk that numbers are already skewed in favour of NDA ?

You know there is no whip, political parties as such do not vote. It is the members of the Parliament who vote and it is a secret ballot. Political party business should not enter this arena. Parties may choose their candidate but ultimately voters are the members of Parliament. Therefore, I don’t understand this fight of numbers...I am very optimistic and am going to appeal to all members of all political parties and I will be formally releasing a letter addressing all MPs soon.

How do you see HM Amit Shah’s criticism of your judgment on disbanding anti-Maoist Salwa Judum militia, and BJP seeing the verdict through the prism of judicial bias?

It is their choice. There are six balls in one over. After the sixth ball nothing remains. I think 5 or 6 are perhaps already over. Some are spinners, some are fast bowlers. Some spin they are trying. The most unfortunate thing is that no one would make such a comment if they have read the judgement. Infact, in the Salwa Judum judgement I was speaking about the menace of violence. I further said that it is the Constitutional duty and obligation of the state to protect the rights and liberty of its citizens. I said you cannot outsource your right to use arms whenever it is necessary to protect the society. I had said please do your duty and do not involve these innocent tribals.

What do you have to say on Shah’s criticism of your judgment on eviction of security forces from school buildings where they were lodged as part of anti-Maoist ops?

In those maoist areas, who are those kids going to school? They have hardly any facilities and whatever schools that were in existence were under the control of security forces depriving the children the right to get educated which is a guaranteed right. Apart from the Right To Education Act even the Constitution gives them that right. Should I presume that the mighty state is unable to provide accomodation to its security forces and occupied the school and college buildings. What is it that I said? You have taken away the school building, let the school be run.

If a judge discharges his Constitutional obligation, interpreting the Constitution as per law as established can be dubbed and characterised as a bias tomorrow. God,...if there is one, save this country.

Your response to the statement of 18 ex-judges supporting you and around 56 others opposing?

What do I say about it? When I say divisive forces are at work this is what I meant. I must thank the 56 colleagues - authors of this text who may have signed or not...they gave me unsolicited advice that it is a political contest, you face it. I never asked them if it is a political contest or not because I have been repeatedly saying that it is a high Constitutional office.

What about criticism of ex-judges seeking constitutional posts — ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi accepting RS nomination and c oncerns about impartiality of judiciary in 1967 when ex-CJI Subba Rao contested for VP post.

I won’t speak about any specific person. I am not asking anyone to nominate me. I am seeking an election appealing to MPs to consider my candidature on merit. Former CJI Subba Rao was attacked for writing the Golaknath judgment where you find the origin and basis of formulating that fundamental rights cannot be altered by Parliament. There is a foundation laid in that very judgment about the basic structure. Later, Kesavananda Bharati merely clarified that no it is not as if no part of the Constitution can be amended...it is not as if no part of fundamental rights can be amended but the Constitution’s basic structure cannot be amended. Those perhaps who believed at that time that anything and everything can be amended and that Justice Rao through Golaknath was coming in the way, therefore they unleashed an attack.

In Salwa Judum, I was talking about social justice, the ideals enshrined in the Preamble, civil rights and liberties of the people and a Constitutional doctrine that the State alone has the monopoly to use weapons to quell violence. It cannot hire the services of an organised group. The moment you speak about some values in the Constitution, it is not palatable to some, they start spinning it.

You have been meeting the leaders of various opposition parties. Your response to the contest being framed like a Tamil pride versus Telugu pride? Your reaction to YSRCP supporting the NDA candidate?

Ans: This nation is one. India that is Bharat is a union of states. There is no separate citizenship for Tamil Nadu and Telangana. Neither Shri CP Radhakrishnan ji has chosen to be born in Tamil Nadu nor Justice Sudershan Reddy chose to be born in Telangana. So there is nothing like Telangana versus Tamil Nadu. As far as YSRCP is concerned it is their political leadership’s choice but I don’t know what their MPs will do as there is no whip and it is a secret ballot. Therefore, why should I not appeal to everyone to consider my candidature for vice president when they vote.