India on Wednesday described as “ambiguous” the “sources” of a report from international NGO Reporters Without Borders that ranks India 136th in global media freedom index, three points down from last year.

Minister of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir also told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply that the report’s sampling was “random”.

The Paris-based body ranked 180 countries according to the level of freedom available to journalists.

“The Press Council of India and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting have taken note of the report of Reporters Without Borders and found out that (its) sources in India are ambiguous and the sampling is quite random in nature which does not portray a proper and comprehensive picture of freedom of the press in India,” Ahir said.

The report blamed the rise of Hindu nationalism for the three notch drop in India’s ranking.