West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Monday said much importance should not be given to the raising of provocative slogan -- "desh ke gaddaro ko, goli maro ..." (shoot the traitors) by some BJP "supporters" while heading for Union Home Minister Amit Shah's rally in the city.
Dhankhar said in a country like India which has a huge population, slogans raised by a few people do not matter and the media should play a sensible role while reporting such issues.
"If suppose there are 1,000 people and one person says something... that's 100 per cent for him... for me that's .01 per cent. Its a country of great positivity... its a very large country," Dhankhar told reporters here.
"I would appeal to the media to be proportionate and get away from sensation. It's time to be very, very responsible in public life," he added.
Three BJP "supporters" have been arrested for raising the slogan while they were passing the Maidan Market in downtown Esplanade en route to the rally venue at nearby Shahid Minar ground on Sunday.
The septuagenarian also rubbished claims of opponent parties alleging that those who had raised the controversial slogan belonged to the saffron party.
He urged people to refrain from having a partisan approach and stressed that the country is "undoubtedly" moving forward.
"If we start looking things from a prism or partisan approach that's not going to be helpful. There is a general preposition I've been saying. There has nothing to do with any political party," he said.
Apparently referring to the recent violence in New Delhi, Dhankhar said "violence can never contribute to the country's democracy".
"Violence in any form in action or thought is against our rituals, culture and democracy. It can never promote democracy... can never contribute to our growth and that's what I've been saying," Dhankhar said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)