The overwhelming official common sense was to let the CJP movement simply fizzle out in the monsoon heat and humidity. Consequently, the CJP by pitching its campaign as a resistance rather than within the rules of institutional Opposition politics was able to rattle the highest level of political authority. Undermining democracyAt the heart of this crisis lies the Modi-Shah political playbook. In such conditions, a single trigger event, such as the CJP movement, could spark an immediate existential threat to an existing political order. Mr. Pradhan’s resignation should perhaps be more correctly seen as the first tremor within a Republic that is buckling from its weakening democratic foundations.