Home Minister Amit Shah has accused retired Supreme Court judge B Sudershan Reddy - the Congress-led INDIA bloc's nominee for the Vice President election - of 'supporting Naxalism'.
At an event in Kerala Friday afternoon, Mr Shah referred to Justice Reddy's landmark 2011 Salwa Judum judgement, in which he ruled state-sponsored militia - i.e., arming young men from tribal communities and calling them 'special police officers' - was "illegal" and "unconstitutional".
Justice Reddy ordered they be disarmed. He said militia could not replace proper enforcement of the law and urged the Chhattisgarh government to address the root causes of the Naxal movement.
Amit Shah harked back to that ruling today to claim Justice Reddy used the top court to support the Naxal movement. He claimed that militia could have wiped out extremist movements that agencies established and empowered by the Constitution are still grappling with today.
"Sudershan Reddy is the person who helped Naxalism. He gave the Salwa Judum judgment. If that judgement had not been given... Naxal terrorism would have ended by 2020. He is the person who, inspired by that ideology, gave the judgment," the Home Minister declared.
Supreme Court (retd) judge, Justice B Sudershan Reddy
"The people of Kerala will certainly see that the Congress, under pressure from Left parties, is fielding a candidate who supported Naxalism with a forum like the Supreme Court," he said.
He also said Kerala - which will hold an Assembly election next year and which has traditionally rejected the BJP's muscular brand of nationalism - has been "suffering" from Naxal movements.
Mr Shah's comments echoed those BJP sources made to NDTV on Monday.
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Sources said the Congress' pick "weakened" the fight against Naxalism, and reminded the opposition party (and its ally, Sharad Pawar's NCP) it had protested against Justice Reddy's appointment as the first Lokayukta of Goa and called him the 'yes man' of then Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar.
The Veep election, scheduled for September 9, will see Justice Reddy contest the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance pick, Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan.
Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan, the BJP's vice presidential election pick (File).
Much has been made about the southern origins of the candidates, particularly before elections in Kerala and Tamil Nadu next year. Sources said the party picked Mr Radhakrishnan because he is from the latter, and it wanted to corner the ruling DMK over support for him versus toeing the opposition line.
Initially expected to respond with a Tamil face of its own, the INDIA bloc finally settled on Justice Reddy, who is from Hyderabad. The former Supreme Court judge spoke to NDTV this week and said, "No personal attacks are expected. I won't make any personal remark... and I hope Mr Radhakrishnan will also refrain. He is very experienced, has been around for a long time."
READ | "No Personal Attack, Veep Polls Decent Contest": Opposition Nominee To NDTV
He also opposed turning the election into a 'state vs state' contest.
"What is this Tamil Nadu vs Telangana? We are both Indian citizens, and India has no separate citizenship for Tamil Nadu and Telangana. You (the media) are setting a narrative," he said.
The election will be held to elect the successor to Jagdeep Dhankhar, who resigned last month citing health concerns, although sources later told NDTV his actions - in context of the impeachment of Delhi High Court judge Justice Yashwant Verma - displeased the government.
