Vandalism on display

HOW the protesters managed to breach the security arrangements outside the Delhi Chief Minister’s residence is a law and order aspect that the police will surely look into, but what is reprehensible and deserves condemnation is the form of protest chosen by the BJP’s youth wing. Whatever the provocation, resorting to vandalism is indefensible; violence cannot be condoned. If the farmers in Punjab were wrong in physically attacking a BJP legislator to vent their ire last year, so are the BJYM supporters. The law should take its course and eyes would be fixed on Delhi Police, but of more importance is the line that the BJP top brass decides to take on the issue. The one expected of it is to talk down to the excited cadre on what is not allowed.

The new-found acceptability for crudeness and vulgarity in the political discourse, deplorable as it is, cannot be allowed to manifest itself in violence. If what Arvind Kejriwal said about the film The Kashmir Files did not go down well with some sections, falling back upon criminal activity is the worst form of reaction. Such dramatic scenes are not uncommon for political parties, but for the BJP, as dominant if not more than what the Congress was at one point of time, any endorsement would go against all that it proclaims itself to be. Getting arrested for protesting is considered an essential resume upgrade for any political wannabe; violence and its celebration are sad additions.

The Kashmir Files has been running to packed halls, despite contestations over portrayal of the bitter truth versus presenting a one-sided narrative of events. Opinionated views stand on the pedestal of free speech, but there is always the primacy of facts. It is everybody’s right to disagree, dissent, speak for or against a narrative. Picking violence as the answer amounts to disrespecting democracy. Fast-track trial, and not mere registration of a case against political activists, could be a more effective deterrent.