A Bharatiya Janata Party MP in Karnataka on Thursday courted controversy after he criticised a woman for not wearing a bindi as a mark of her marital status, NDTV reported.

K Muniswamy, the BJP MP from Kolar, made the remarks while visiting a fairground in his constituency.

At one of the stalls at the fairground, Muniswamy stopped and asked a woman vendor whether her husband was still alive.

“What’s your name?” the MP asked the woman, according to NDTV. “Why is there no bindi on your forehead? Your stall named Vaishnavi? Wear a bindi on your forehead. Your husband is alive, isn’t he?”

The incident reportedly happened on March 8, which is celebrated as Women’s Day. The exchange was caught on camera and its video was widely shared on social media. Several persons, including politicians, criticised Muniswamy.

Congress MP Karti P Chidambaram alleged that the BJP is turning the country into a “Hindutva Iran”.

“The Ayatollahs of the BJP will have their version of the ‘Moral Police’ patrolling the streets,” Chidambaram wrote in a tweet.