Speaking on better road discipline, the L-G said: “North Indians are responsible for breaking traffic rules. The people of north India feel proud in violating the law. They disregard laws and rules and reduce laws to shreds, whereas the people of south India respect the law.”

In response, BJP’s Delhi chief Dr Harsh Vardhan said: “Every citizen of the country respects the law. Connecting the violators of law to any state, area, class, religion, caste, language or sex is an insult of the Constitution.” He has demanded an immediate apology from the L-G.

The comments also drew criticism from the Congress. AICC spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said: “If he (Khanna) has said so, it is wrong and condemnable.” Information and Broadcasting Minister P R Dasmunsi said: “I have not heard the comments. But if they are true, whosoever has made it will have to face the consequences.”

The L-G, however, retracted his statement soon, blaming the media for distorting the content of his speech. Khanna clarified that he merely meant: “The level of autonomous self-compliance of traffic regulations, such as maintaining lane discipline and respecting traffic lights, is lower in Delhi as compared to that observed in the South, which is borne out by the relevant statistics.”

Khanna had found himself in troubled waters earlier last month when he announced at his annual conference that all Delhiites and visitors will have to carry personal identification papers all the time as a security measure. By the evening, he changed his statement and announced that he had never meant that the policy will be mandatory.