The latest survey by Thomson Reuters Foundation stating that India is the most dangerous country for women has been out-rightly rejected by the Narendra Modi government. While it is definitely hard to believe that India is more dangerous for women than Afghanistan and Somalia, what is even more hard to believe is the double-speak by the Bharatiya Janata Party and its supporters.

Union Minister for Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi has questioned the methodology and stakeholders of the survey, which has been prepared after consulting 550 gender experts. Calling the report 'biased', Maneka Gandhi wrote to the agency which presented the report and raised several questions. She asked, "Who are the stakeholders? What is the size of sample for the survey? Why wasn't the Ministry for Women and Child Development consulted?"

Back in 2011, when Thomson Reuters had conducted the same survey, it had said that India was the fourth most dangerous country for women. At that time too, the survey followed the same methodology, but with less than half the number of experts consulted. The survey had in 2011 consulted 213 gender experts and had kept India above Somalia at that time too.

However, what was different at that time was the reaction to the survey by now Prime Minister and then PM candidate Narendra Modi. Modi had in 2013, when the UPA was in power, tweeted, "India is considered 4th most dangerous for women. When will she feel safe & symbol of positivity?"

India is considered 4th most dangerous for women. When will she feel safe & symbol of positivity?

— narendramodi_in (@narendramodi_in) October 2, 2013

NDA MP Rajeev Chandrasekhar had sought votes for Modi on the basis of the survey and had tweeted, "I believe India deserves better. Being the 4th most dangerous country in the world for women is shameful. Vote 4 change #Rajeev4Namo."

I believe India deserves better. Being the 4th most dangerous country in the world for women is shameful. Vote 4 change #Rajeev4Namo

— Rajeev Chandrasekhar (@rajeev_mp) April 7, 2014

Political Commentator Sunanda Vashisht, who has slammed Congress President Rahul Gandhi for tweeting the poll and "shaming the country", had tweeted the poll in 2011 and written, "India 4th most dangerous place in world for women. Truly shameful for a country that aspires to be a superpower."

http://t.co/vc7xLsz India 4th most dangerous place in world for women. Truly shameful for a country that aspires to be a superpower.

— Sunanda Vashisht (@sunandavashisht) June 15, 2011

BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya, who has now called the poll a "Perception of 548 anonymous individuals being used to brand India as a country unsafe for women notwithstanding data", had in 2013 tweeted, "The world's most dangerous countries for women. We seem to be in some great company ! Shame."

The world's most dangerous countries for women http://t.co/adOOaCSZ We seems to be in some great company ! Shame.

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) February 9, 2013

The data by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) says that in 2016, India recorded 106 rapes a day. The report said that in the year 2016, a total of 38,947 cases of rape were registered in the country.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 28, 2018 12:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).