'Remarks on women scribes misinterpreted'

Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore on Saturday took to Twitter to deny that he thought women journalists were more suited for off-field roles, like news analysis, than field-reporting.

He was reacting to reports that had quoted him as stating at an interaction at the Indian Women's Press Corps on Thursday that in contrast to the “reducing importance” of the factual news business practised by TV journalism, women scribes should take to print, which is more about “analysis of the implication of the news”.

The reports had quoted Rathore as saying: “Not to say that you should not go out or there is a restriction on going out, (but) what I am saying is, in the sense of safety and security, and of course your working hours, and conditions which we all know have a degree of difficulty attached because as a mother, sister, the roles you all play, there are other responsibilities as well.”  Rathore tweeted: “Wrong interpretation. My wife is an ex-soldier. False, false, false. Totally false, Shame.”