Three days after announcing it was mandatory for Delhiites to carry photo identity cards as a safety measure, he backtracked today, saying he was “misrepresented” by the media.

He said possession of ID cards was desirable but definitely not mandatory. And that he had not said anything about penalty in case of non-compliance.

The u-turn comes a day after Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the issue, and hours after a high-level Congress delegation paid a visit to Raj Niwas.

UP Chief Minister Mayawati, too, slammed the decision today, terming it “anti poor” and “unconstitutional”.

Mayawati told a media conference today that she had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh protesting against the decision, which was “anti-poor” and “anti-people” apart from being “unconstitutional”.

“This looks like a follow-up to the Delhi Chief Minister’s comments that migrants from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh being a burden on the capital,” she said.

She said it was the poor and downtrodden in Delhi who are among the supporters of BSP and the move might be aimed at targeting them. “Instead of trying to invoke such measures, the government should try and improve the policing to make the Capital safer,” she said.

People in this country have a right to settle wherever they want, she added. “I have asked the Prime Minister to take back this order,” she said.

Khanna later said: “I had not issued any orders of compulsory possession of ID cards or their checking by police from January 15. I had made this statement in view of the heightened security threats and improving public security consciousness in the city and had instructed the police commissioner to increase surveillance in different parts of the NCR to screen persons arousing suspicion.

“During such screenings, possession of any photo ID documents would be a convenience.”

The hasty retreat came after a delegation of parliamentarians from Delhi, DPCC chief J P Aggarwal and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit met Khanna this morning and sought a clarification.

“The announcement had created great confusion and even panic among Delhiites,” Dikshit said, “especially because there was no clarity on the penalty (to be) imposed. Delhi is a city where people from all over the country come for their livelihood, and they are more than welcome here. We told him that in case such an order was made which applied to the country, then we would welcome it.”