Congress using 'perception' survey to 'damage' Modi govt's reputation globally: Rathore

Union Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore today slammed the Congress for "trying to damage" the Modi government's reputation globally by citing a survey on women safety that was based on "perception" and "afar from any solid facts or numbers".

The Information and Broadcasting minister's comments came a day after Congress chief Rahul Gandhi targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue of women's safety and said that it was a"shame" that the survey had found India as the world's most dangerous country for women.

"The #WomenSafetyReport being used by Congress to slander billions of Indians thereby trying to damage our reputation globally, is a 'Perception Based' survey, afar from any solid facts or numbers. Ashamed of the Congress," Rathore said in a tweet.

The minister also tweeted a video clip by a news channel, in which a journalist with Thomson Reuters Foundation, which came out with the survey, clarified that the findings were based on the perception of experts.

"What is Congress up to? 43 yrs ago they ransacked our democracy for the greed of power, today they're fabricating facts to demean India. A survey done with opaque methodology, anonymous 'experts' & 'zero' sample declares India most unsafe for women? Such a shameful stunt!," Rathore said in another tweet.

The controversial online survey found India to be the world's most dangerous country for women due to high risk of sexual violence followed by war-torn Afghanistan and Syria.

Somalia and Saudi Arabia were ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the survey of about 550 experts on women's issues.