BJP parliamentarian K Muniswamy was taking a look at stalls after opening the fair at Kolar.
A BJP MP from Karnataka triggered controversy on International Women's Day, scolding a woman for not wearing bindi as a mark of her marital status.
K Muniswamy, the MP Kolar, was visiting a fair ground in Kolar district -- around 70 km from Bengaluru.
The MP, who was invited to inaugurate the fair, was taking a look at stalls where clothes were on sale. During his rounds, he stopped at a particular stall and asked the vendor whether her husband was alive.
"What's your name? Why is there no bindi on your forehead? Your stall named Vaishnavi? Wear bindi on your forehead. Your husband is alive, isn't it?" he told the woman.
The exchange was caught on camera and the video was widely circulated, eliciting sharp response from many.
"The @BJP4India will turn India into a "Hindutva Iran". The Ayatollahs of the BJP will have their version of the "Moral Police" patrolling the streets," tweeted Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram.
The timing of the incident -- International Women's Day -- added to the outpouring of anger and criticism on social media. Many commented on the tone and tenor of the MP. Others questioned why he was not following his own advice.
Rude and insensitive comments from BJP leaders have repeatedly made headlines in the state over the last few years. In April 2021, the state's Food and Civil Supplies Minister Umesh Katti was recorded lashing out at a farmer who had asked about cuts in PDS rice allotment.
When the man asked whether they should "starve or die" till Central help comes, the minister was heard saying, "It is better to die. Actually, that is the reason we have stopped giving. Please don't call me".
In May 2020, law minister JC Madhu Swamy was criticised for verbally abusing a woman activist in Kolar. The minister was inspecting a lake in the area when the woman approached him, alleging encroachment around the Agrahara Lake. The minister then lost his cool.
In October last year, BJP minister V Somanna was in Hangala village of Chamarajanagar district to distribute land titles at a public programme when he was confronted by a woman who was angry about not receiving a land title. The minister, visibly furious, slapped her. Despite the assault, the woman was seen touching his feet.