Victims of Naxal violence appeal to MPs not to support Oppn VP candidate Sudershan Reddy

New Delhi, Aug 29 (PTI) A group of victims of the Naxal violence on Friday appealed to all members of Parliament not to support opposition-sponsored vice presidential candidate B Sudershan Reddy, alleging that he was the person who halted the "people's movement" against the extremists at a time when they were about to become extinct.

Addressing a press conference here, the victims of the Naxal violence, under the banner of Bastar Shanti Samiti (BSS), alleged that because of Reddy's order as the then judge of the Supreme Court to end the Salwa Judum, their struggle had not only weakened but also destroyed the lives of many.

In December 2011, Justice Reddy of the Supreme Court ruled that using tribal youths as Special Police Officers, whether called 'Koya Commandos' or Salwa Judum, in the fight against Maoist insurgents was illegal and unconstitutional, and ordered that they be immediately disarmed.

"When the Salwa Judum was empowered, the Naxals not only became weak but were on the verge of extinction. But due to the order of Reddy as the then judge of the Supreme Court, the Naxals got emboldened and became a festering wound," said Jairam, convener of the BSS.

Under the Salwa Judum, the Chhattisgarh government had appointed tribal youths as special police officers to counter the Naxal menace. In the 2011 order, a bench of the Supreme Court, also comprising Justice Reddy (retd), said that the state cannot outsource its duties to untrained vigilantes, and halted the activities of the Salwa Judum.

Shiyaram Ramtek, a villager from Bastar, said if "Reddy had not supported the Naxals", his son would have been alive now.

Ramtek's son was a farmer who was allegedly abducted by the Maoists and later killed, he said.

Another victim, Kedarnath Kasyap, said that Maoists allegedly killed his younger brother, who was a police constable.

"The Maoists tied his hands, tortured him and brutally killed him. Had the order against Salwa Judum not been given, the Naxals would have fled from our area by 2014 and my brother would still be alive," he said.

In their appeal, the victims said someone lost a leg in improvised explosive device (IED) blasts, someone lost their vision, someone had their spine broken while someone was permanently disabled due to the violence perpetrated by the Naxals.

"Now, the very person who gave the order against the Salwa Judum has been nominated as a vice presidential candidate. For us, this is a moment of deep pain, like salt being rubbed into our wounds. We are not aligned with any political ideology or party but we simply want justice," they said in a release.

Requesting all MPs not to support Reddy, the victims of Naxal violence appealed the parliamentarians to feel their sorrow, listen to their cries and raise their voice for Naxal victims.

"Please ensure that our pain is acknowledged, our memories respected and our struggles recognised," they said.

The vice presidential election will be held on September 9. While Reddy is the joint opposition candidate for the high constitutional post, C P Radhakrishnan is the ruling NDA candidate. PTI ACB ACB KSS KSS