<h1>Chief minister accuses home minister of smearing retired judge as 'Naxal', warns federalism and constitutional safeguards at risk</h1> A state chief minister accused the union home minister of politically smearing a retired Supreme Court judge as a 'Naxal' to deflect from the central government's failure to eliminate extremist violence, urging bloc support for the judge's vice-presidential bid to protect the Constitution and parliamentary conventions. The chief minister and the judge alleged the central government is deploying investigative agencies against opponents and subordinating independent institutions to partisan control, threatening constitutional safeguards and federalism. They warned proposed GST and fiscal changes could erode state autonomy, reduce states to dependency on central allocations, and urged a strategic response to defend federal and constitutional principles.