- A man protested by sitting on a road blocked for Karnataka Governor's convoy
- The man was traveling with his pregnant wife and faced a long delay on Old Airport Road
- He insisted that ordinary citizens' time is as valuable as politicians' time
There's the infamous Bengaluru traffic. Add to that a street blocked off for a VIP convoy, and you get a spectacular double fault.
Stuck in India's Silicon Valley, one frustrated citizen decided to resort to a Gandhian mode of protest. Travelling with his pregnant wife, the man grew agitated over a prolonged delay on Old Airport Road, which had been cleared for Karnataka Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot's motorcade.
In defiance, he sat squarely in the middle of the road.
Refusing to budge, the unnamed man insisted that an ordinary citizen's time is just as valuable as a politician's.
Here is how his tense exchange with a traffic inspector unfolded:
Man: "My wife is pregnant. We also have work to do, don't we?"
Traffic Police: "Move aside. Stand over there."
Man: "My wife is pregnant. Why have you blocked the signal? Just because the Governor is a VIP, does that mean we are nobody?"
Traffic Police: "You are also a VIP. Now, get up and move. Are you going to get up or not?"
Man: "No."
Traffic Police: "Are you going to get up or not?"
Man: "No."
While viral videos show the convoy eventually passing a crowded roadside, it remains unclear how the standoff was defused before the man eventually left the site.
The incident spotlights a brewing resentment against "VIP culture" - an issue Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed just last month.
The PM urged ministers and officials to adopt a restrained, cost-effective approach to official protocols, emphasising simplicity and efficiency over visible displays of power.
As part of this push for minimalism in governance, the PM even ordered a 50% reduction in his own convoy's size and directed the induction of electric vehicles to curb unnecessary expenditure and public inconvenience.
