R K Singh rebuffs Bhagwat's India, Bharat remark

There can be no basis to distinguish between rural and urban India when it comes to crimes against women, union Home Secretary R.K. Singh said Friday following RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's remark that "westernisation" in Indian cities was the reason behind increasing cases of rape.

"There is no basis for making distinction between India and Bharat," Singh said on the sidelines of a function Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System here.

Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Bhagwat had said in Assam that crimes such as rape "hardly take place in Bharat, but they occur frequently in India".

"You go to villages and forests of the country and there will be no such incidents of gang-rape or sex crimes. They are prevalent in some urban belts. Besides new legislations, Indian ethos and attitude towards women should be revisited in the context of ancient Indian values," Bhagwat had told a gathering of RSS workers in Silchar, Assam.

The RSS chief's controversial remark comes days after the death of a 23-year-old woman who was brutally gang-raped on a moving bus in south Delhi Dec 16. The incident has led to loud protests in Delhi and elsewhere to demand justice for the woman and stringent anti-rape laws and more security.