By IANS
New Delhi : Within hours of saying that north Indians “take pride” in violating traffic rules – and inviting criticism for his remark – Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna Thursday took a U-turn and blamed the media for distorting his statement.
“It has been brought to the attention of Delhi Lt. Governor Tejendra Khanna that some TV channels have seriously distorted the context and content of a statement, which had been made by him at the launching ceremony of the Delhi Police Motorcycle Traffic Patrol from the India Gate earlier this morning,” the LG office said in a statement.
“He had referred to the comparatively lower level of autonomous self-compliance of traffic regulations, such as maintaining lane discipline, giving right of way and respecting traffic lights, in Delhi, as compared to that observed in some metropolitan cities in the south, which is borne out by the relevant statistics. This, in turn, leads to the need for more effective police presence and alertness to check violations,” it said.
At the launch event, Khanna said: “In this region (north India), people take pride in violating the law. But people in south India naturally stay within the limits of the law.
“It is a speciality of north and west India that people feel a sense of honour and pride in violating law and boasting that no action could be taken against them,” he said, adding that people in south India adhere to law without any external pressure.
He flagged off 200 ‘traffic motorcycles’ and 121 police control room (PCR) motorcycles, which would keep a strict eye on people violating traffic norms – especially rash driving, three people riding a two-wheeler, riding a two-wheeler without helmet, defective number plates, driving on the wrong side, unauthorized parking and overtaking from the left side.
The squad will also regulate commuters, street side beggars, hawkers and jaywalkers to maintain discipline at the bus stands and traffic signals.
Khanna said being the Lt Governor, he would ensure that people in the capital respect and stick to law and feel afraid of violating traffic norms.
“Making people fear does not mean that there will be any high-handedness. But agencies should not remain mute spectators and must take stringent action against those who overstep the limits,” Delhi’s top official said.
“The ambassador of Denmark, who met me a couple of days ago, also spoke about the poor traffic situation in the city. He said the system could be improved to a certain extent if the car drivers start driving in their respective lanes.”
His remarks invited criticism from many quarters.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman Rajiv Pratap Rudi said: “It is a dictatorial statement and appropriate action should be taken against him. He should be removed if he fails to apologies.”
BJP Delhi unit chief Harshvardhan added: “It seems the government is dividing people in the city. They should not generalise traffic violators in terms of north and west Indians.
“We demand the governor must rethink his statement and withdraw it immediately,” he added.
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said: “His statement is wrong and he should not have said it.”
But Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said: “I am sure the LG didn’t intend to say so. Maybe he has been misread.”
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit refused to comment, saying she was not aware of the statement.
Last month Khanna had courted controversy when, addressing his annual press conference Jan 4, he directed that all people in the capital need to equip themselves all the time with an identity card to show proof of residence.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had called it an attempt to “turn Delhi into a police state” and a “sinister design to target people of Bihari origin” – the capital has a large number of migrant workers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.
After stiff protests from all quarters, including the Congress, Khanna in a U-turn said the media had “misreported” him on the issue.
“Ours is a free country and people are most welcome to have their comments. But I definitely feel that media misreported me. When instead of saying that it (carrying an identity card) was an advisory, they (media) reported it was mandatory,” Khanna said in a television interview.