In a bid to ensure the safety of foreign tourists in India, Union Minister of Culture and Tourism Mahesh Sharma has advised them to not wear skirts and shorts dresses while visiting small towns.

Sharma, who was speaking at an event in Agra on Sunday said that the advisory is for the safety of foreigners because Indian culture is very different from western culture, reports The Times of India.

“When a foreign tourist reaches the airport, he or she is given a welcome kit wherein dos and don’ts are mentioned for them during their stay in India. These dos and don’ts include suggestions that if they are in small cities, they should not roam alone at night nor wear dresses like skirts,” he said, according to a  Hindustan Times report.

He also added that they should click photographs of number plate of cabs which they are travelling in and must send it to their friends so that a record can be kept.

However, despite the minister maintaining that the government has no plans to impose any dress code, Twitterati were clearly unimpressed.

Here are some of the tweets which bashed the ministers’ safety diktat: