Media makes Raj Thackeray out of Delhi Lt Governor Tejinder Khanna

NEW DELHI: In this season of rowdy protests over parochial issues, innocuous observations can land people in trouble. Delhi’s Lt governor Tejinder Khanna realised this to his dismay on Thursday when his observation that people in south India have a better compliance record in traffic rules compared to their northern counterparts was projected by controversy-savouring 24X7 TV channels as an ‘anti-north Indian’ remark.

Politicos from the northern region came out against the Lt governor saying that he has no business to make such comments. Incidentally, even those who kept silent when Raj Thackeray’s men unleashed ugly protests in the streets of Mumbai against north Indians pounced on the Lt governor.

The ruckus over the issue forced the Raj Bhawan to issue a clarification. “Mr Khanna 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 relevant statistics,” a Raj Bhawan statement said.

Mr Khanna also observed that an important part of the duties of good citizenship is to maintain a high-level of self discipline and autonomous compliance of the rules and regulations so that all fellow citizens can live in a more orderly, peaceful and secure environment, it said.

“The media has seriously distorted the context and content of a statement he made at the launch of Delhi Police Motorcycle Traffic Patrol here,” the statement said. “In this (North) region, the situation is such that commonly it is a matter of pride to violate the law.

The behaviour pattern in South India is such that the people naturally stay within the limits of the law. It is a speciality of North and Western India that the people feel a sense of honour and pride in violating law and boasting that no action has been taken against them,” Mr Khanna had said at the function.