Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Thursday said people have a constitutional right to peacefully protest against the policies of any government, including those led by her party. She was responding to questions about police action against Lower Primary School Teacher rank-holders who had been protesting outside the Keralam Secretariat for more than four months.Police on Wednesday night removed the hunger strike tent set up by the protesters and arrested their leader, Valarmathi.

She was later taken to hospital after her health deteriorated.“My take across India and the world is that people have the right to protest. In democracies, especially, they are given this right by the Constitution.

I think people should be allowed to exercise their constitutional right,” Vadra told reporters in Wayanad.She said police should act if a protest turns violent or extremely aggressive, or if people are being hurt, as protesters must respect the rule of law. “But as long as the protest, even if it is against our government in the state or our policies, is peaceful, it should be allowed to continue,” she said.Vadra said her view applied to a Congress government as well as any other administration in the country. The rank-holders have been demanding that the Keralam Public Service Commission make appointments to government schools from the Lower Primary School Teacher rank list before it expires.She maintained that their protest should be allowed to continue as long as it remains peaceful.- Ends