'Is He An Ordinary Person?': INDIA Bloc VP Candidate Sudarshan Reddy On Meeting Lalu Yadav

Last Updated:September 09, 2025, 07:52 IST

INDIA Bloc vice presidential candidate Justice B Sudarshan Reddy's private meeting with Lalu Prasad Yadav, a convict in the fodder scam, triggered a row ahead of the VP elections.

INDIA bloc VP candidate Sudarshan Reddy and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav. (Photo: X)

INDIA Bloc vice presidential candidate Justice B Sudarshan Reddy broke silence on his decision to meet Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, which sparked a political row ahead of the vice-presidential elections to be held today.

Reddy defended his meeting by saying it was not right to slander anyone. “They keep saying whatever comes to their mind. Is Lalu an ordinary man? It is not right to say such things about anyone," he told news agency ANI.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had sharply criticised the Opposition VP candidate for meeting Lalu Prasad Yadav at his residence in Patna, calling it “terrible optics" and a “shocking statement on probity in public life."

“B. Sudarshan Reddy, former Supreme Court judge and INDI Alliance’s joint candidate, recently met fodder scam convict Lalu Prasad, who isn’t even a Member of Parliament and has no vote in the VP electoral college. This isn’t just terrible optics, it’s a shocking statement on probity in public life by someone aspiring for a high constitutional office," said BJP leader Amit Malviya.

“What’s even more telling is the silence of the “usual suspects" — retired judges and self-proclaimed custodians of constitutional morality. Their hypocrisy stands exposed," he added.

‘Fundamental Error In Judgement’

Meanwhile, eight former High Court judges expressed strong disapproval of Reddy’s meeting with Lalu Prasad Yadav, calling it a “fundamental error in judgement". They said the meeting served no legitimate political purpose, as Lalu Yadav was neither an MP nor required to vote in the vice-presidential elections.

“It is dismaying to note that Mr B Sudarshan Reddy, INDI Alliance’s joint candidate, recently had a private meeting with Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav. Mr Yadav stands infamously convicted in the fodder scam case which involved the embezzlement of about Rs 940 crore of public funds from the State of Bihar," said the judges in a statement.

“For someone of Mr Reddy’s stature, a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, and his ambition, which is to occupy one of the nation’s highest constitutional offices, an engagement of such dubious nature raises serious questions about his judgement and propriety," the statement read. “It is particularly worrying that despite his distinguished judicial background, Mr Reddy has independently associated with an individual whose criminal actions have been confirmed by Indian courts."

“Regardless of this conspicuous silence, Mr Reddy’s decision to associate with convicted individuals who have demonstrably harmed national interests through corruption, speaks volumes about his intentions and allegiances. This lapse, by an individual seeking to occupy an influential and prestigious constitutional post, represents a fundamental error in judgement, one that the public is bound to evaluate fully."

They also criticised what they described as the “conspicuous silence" of those who regularly claim the mantle of “constitutional morality", accusing them of overlooking serious lapses for self-serving interest and political convenience.

News politics 'Is He An Ordinary Person?': INDIA Bloc VP Candidate Sudarshan Reddy On Meeting Lalu Yadav

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