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BJP Minister Kiren Rijiju Concurs With Governor Khanna That 'North Indians' Pride In Breaking The Law

BJP Minister Kiren Rijiju Concurs With Governor Khanna That 'North Indians' Pride In Breaking The Law
NEW DELHI, INDIA - SEPTEMBER 28: Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home Affairs, addresses the National Disaster Management Authorityâs (NDMA) 11th Formation Day at Vigyan Bhawan on September 28, 2015 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
Hindustan Times via Getty Images
NEW DELHI, INDIA - SEPTEMBER 28: Kiren Rijiju, Minister of State for Home Affairs, addresses the National Disaster Management Authorityâs (NDMA) 11th Formation Day at Vigyan Bhawan on September 28, 2015 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Sonu Mehta/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Delhi Chief Minister has generally minced no words in alleging that Delhi's Lieutanant Governor, Tejinder Khanna, is "influenced' by the Central, BJP leadership. However Minister of State for Home, Kiren Rijiju, may have provided further fodder to Kejriwal after going out of his way to exhume--and publicly concur with-- a 2008 statement by Khanna that north Indians "take pride in and enjoy" breaking rules.

"I was witness to a statement made by one of the Lt Governor's of Delhi some years back, " PTI quoted Rijiju as saying on the sidelines of an inauguration of a think tank on police-related subjects."He had stated that people of north India enjoy breaking the rules and by evening he was forced to apologise. But I believe what he said was right."

Delhi LG Tejinder Khanna said in February 2008 that "it is a speciality of north and west India that the people feel a sense of honour and pride in violating law and boasting that no action has been taken against them."

However, he had later retracted his statement after Congress and BJP protested.

Rijiju's comments assume significance in the larger context of allegations by the Kejriwal that Delhi Police was the "most corrupt." There's a long standing fracas on between the Delhi Centre and state government on who gets to control the police. Matters reach a flashpoint whenever brazen crime--such as the alleged rape of two minor girls earlier this month--hits the news.

In response to Kejriwal's allegations of corruption, Delhi Police chief Bassi promised to reward anyone who gave documentary evidence of a Delhi cop being corrupt.

Rijiju went on to say people here love to brag about having threatened a police official. "That means the society as a whole needs to change," he said, "Many people say police has become very rude. Police will be rude only if citizens are indisciplined. If people are disciplined, then police will not be rude. But there is a general saying here that until you beat them with a stick, people don't listen."

Kejriwal recently tweeted that PM Modi "should stop being stubborn" and relinquish control of the Delhi Police to his state administration. Rijiju obliquely referred to this when he added:"Kejriwal keeps on saying that Delhi police did not do something or the other but if he, himself, will not not correct his approach what could the police do?"

(With inputs from PTI)

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.