Union Minister of State for home affairs Kiren Rijiju found himself at the centre of controversy when he agreed with former Delhi Lieutenant Governor Tejinder Khanna's comments that people from north India enjoy breaking rules and take pride in it. Rijiju said on Wednesday, "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."

While the Bharatiya Janata Party leader did not name Khanna, the former Delhi Lieutenant Governor had said in 2008 that "it is a specialty of north and west India that people feel a sense of honour and pride in violating law and boasting that no action has been taken against them". Khanna had to withdraw his comments after being criticised by both the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress, reported the Times of India.

Rijiju's remarks were in the context of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's demand that the central government should hand over control of the state police to the Delhi government. Rijiju said that Kejriwal should correct his approach before blaming the police for lawlessness in the national capital.

Kejriwal on Thursday slammed Rijiju's comments via a tweet, saying he should not divide Indians.