New Delhi, Dec 31 (IANS): Even as the police crackdown on anti-CAA protesters continues, a survey conducted on the last day of the year brought to the fore optimism in the nation's mind that the freedom to register protest would remain intact in the coming year.

In an IANS-CVOTER State of Nation poll 2020 survey, 58.3 per cent of the 1,600 respondents from 23 states of the nation have expressed optimism that they will enjoy the freedom to protest over any government policy that they don't agree with. Only 22.8 per cent of the respondents feel otherwise.

The overall optimism stands at 35.6 per cent.

The observations are interesting amid allegations by anti-CAA protesters that governments both at the centre and in states were muzzling the voices of dissent.

Speaking to IANS, Yashwant Deshmukh of CVoter said, "We observed that the recently passed CAA witnessed traction mostly among the minorities. The majority of the nation was more concerned with issues related to the economy and employment."