HYDERABAD: Accusing the Union government of carrying out the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and other such exercises with an ulterior motive of removing names of voters from electoral rolls, former Supreme Court judge and Opposition vice-presidential candidate Justice B Sudershan Reddy on Monday said that the electoral process in the country is in peril.
Contrasting the present SIR with the early years of electoral roll preparation that began soon after India’s Independence, he said: “When the first draft of the electoral rolls was prepared, the then Election Commission aimed to implement universal adult suffrage to reflect that political power had shifted from colonial rulers to the people. It was an inclusive process. Now, SIR is being conducted with the intent to find reasons to disenfranchise citizens,” he alleged.
Justice Sudershan Reddy was speaking at an interactive programme organised by the TPCC. The V-P candidate, who identified himself as a proponent of liberal constitutional democracy, reaffirmed his faith in the Constitution of India, calling it a document that offers solutions to all political and social challenges. He said he has been carrying a copy of the Constitution of India with him for the past 53 years and has taken oath on it five times. He added that contesting the vice-presidential election would be an additional responsibility for him.
“I will defend and protect the Constitution. This is not a break but a continuation of my journey,” he declared.
“I take pride in being a Telugu person and a son of the soil of Telangana,” he said and explained the emergence of the TDP, which was founded to celebrate Telugu identity, and the BRS, which was rooted in Telangana pride.
Responding to Union Minister Amit Shah’s remark branding him a ‘Naxalite’, he referred to the “Salwa Judum” judgment authored by him, which was upheld by an 11-judge bench of the Supreme Court without a single comma being altered.
He said he remains unfazed by such accusations. “They thought they could browbeat me by making that accusation. If he [Amit Shah] had read the judgment, he would not have used such language,” he remarked.
Revanth raises Telugu pride
Meanwhile, Revanth Reddy urged all Telugu leaders and people across the two Telugu states to rally behind Justice Sudershan Reddy.
Describing his candidature as a matter of regional pride and national importance, he recalled how eminent Telugu leaders like Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, VV Giri, PV Narasimha Rao, S Jaipal Reddy, M Venkaiah Naidu and NT Rama Rao played pivotal roles at the national level.
“However today, Telugu leaders are not as prominent in national politics. Justice Sudershan Reddy’s contest gives us a historic opportunity to restore that stature,” he observed.
Calling the election a matter of Telugu honour, Revanth appealed to the presidents of all major parties in the Telugu states — including N Chandrababu Naidu, Pawan Kalyan, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, K Chandrashekar Rao and Asaduddin Owaisi — along with the 42 Lok Sabha MPs and 18 Rajya Sabha members from both states, to vote “as per their conscience.”