Street protest is resurrection of democratic politics, not insurrection against it

If there ever was a justification for street protest, this is a perfect instance.(Illustration: C R Sasikumar) Is street protest justified in a constitutional democracy? This question has been thrown at this columnist over the last fortnight, provoked by the argument advanced in this column that peaceful and democratic resistance rather than electoral contestation is the way forward for the Opposition. The entire ecosystem of the ruling establishment — the head of the BJP IT cell, the anchor-in-chief of darbari media and their academic spokespersons — has unleashed its fury at this argument and this author. The usual slurs follow: Anti-democratic, anti-constitutional and, of course, anti-national. This criticism must not be dismissed with quick rebuttals. It is easy to point out that this