For over 60 years Justice Reddy has served the cause of law and jurisprudence, upholding social justice and people’s rights, the chief minister recalled, adding that he had protected the Constitution as well as the magisterium of law.
File Photo: IANS
Taking strong exception to BJP veteran Amit Shah’s criticism of the Opposition candidate for the vice-presidential candidate B Sudrshan Reddy as a naxal, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin on Sunday called it an irony that this was coming from the Union home minister.
“Is this the way to treat a former Supreme Court Judge? Forgetting his responsibility, Shah, who holds the office of Union home minister, is making this unfounded blatant charge to escape their culpability and incompetence. It is nothing but an attempt at shifting the blame,” Stalin said at a reception hosted for Justice Reddy, who is on his first leg of drumming up support.
Advertisement
For over 60 years Justice Reddy has served the cause of law and jurisprudence, upholding social justice and people’s rights, the chief minister recalled, adding that he had protected the Constitution as well as the magisterium of law. “The country needs him at this critical juncture when the Constitution itself has come under threat. Further, he respects Tamil sentiments and is close to Tamil Nadu and its progressive legacy. This was evident when he debunked the New Education Policy and saud that Tamil Nadu, the lord of Periyar and Dravidian icons has not given up its resilience to carry on struggles,” Stalin said.
Advertisement
Asking what the Modi Government is doing, the chief minister said it had turned statutory institutions as the BJP’s subsidiaries. “Given the dire situation, we have got a person who is committed to secularism, federalism, social justice and pluralism. As such, it is our bounden duty to support him,” he noted.
Taking on the BJP, Stalin said after having done what are all opposed to Tamil Nadu, the saffron parivar has now come up with a Tamil mask and is scouting for support.
As the candidate of the INDIA bloc, 79-year-old Justice Reddy is pitted against Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan, a senior BJP leader with RSS background hailing from Tamil Nadu. Despite the BJP using the sentiment to secure the DMK’s support, the Dravidian major had rejected the overtures and stood by its ideological moorings.
The DMK, heading the Secular Progressive Alliance, comprises the Congress, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) of Thol Thirumavalavan, MP, the CPI(M) and the CPI, MDMK of Vaiko, IUML and Kamal Hassan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam. Some of them were present on the occasion.
Later, addressing the media, Justice Reddy said, “This is certainly not just about a contest between me and Radhakrishnan Ji. It is a contest of representing two different ideologies – one which the other side is propagating that here’s a quintessential RSS man. So far as I’m concerned, I do not subscribe to that ideology… I’m essentially a liberal, constitutional, democratic,” In his view, while India still is a constitutional democracy, it is under strain.
“There is a democracy deficit. It is not that India is no more a democratic country… We are still a Constitutional Democracy but under strain” he said.
Reddy was nominated for the post of vice president by the Opposition after the NDA named CP Radhakrishnan as its candidate for the polls.
Advertisement
