NEW DELHI – Former Supreme Court Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, who is running for Vice President with the INDIA group, complimented Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday. This was a big display of support for his political comrade. While talking to media in the Central Hall of Samvidhan Sadan, Reddy quoted the socialist leader Rammanohar Lohia, who said, “Jab sadak khaamosh hai, sadan awara hoti hai” (when the streets are quiet, the house gets disorderly). Reddy then remarked that Rahul Gandhi “doesn’t let the streets be quiet,” referring to the Congress leader’s work to get the Telangana administration to complete a rigorous caste census.
Reddy, who was in charge of the Telangana caste census expert panel, stated that the report would be a “major challenge” to the current government. He said he hoped that the process will be organized and not merely a formality.
The former judge also had big worries about the “Special Intensive Revision” of the election records in Bihar that is still going on. He said the scenario was a “serious challenge and threat to the Constitution” because it violates the “right to vote,” which he dubbed the “one and only instrument or weapon in the hands of the common man.” After millions of names were taken off the draft voter list in Bihar, the Special Intensive Revision, a huge project by the Election Commission of India, has come under fire, leading to demonstrations and legal challenges.
Earlier this week, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge announced Reddy’s candidacy. He called Reddy a “distinguished and progressive jurist” and a “consistent and brave champion of social, economic, and political justice.” More than 80 MPs from different INDIA bloc parties signed his nomination papers. The Opposition has called the Vice-Presidential race a “ideological battle” to protect the Constitution and democratic values.
The INDIA bloc’s main political goals are to push for a nationwide caste census and safeguard the integrity of elections. These goals are in line with the admiration for Rahul Gandhi and the criticism of the Bihar electoral process.