Actor Vivek Oberoi apologised on Tuesday for tweeting a meme that linked the exit polls with actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s life. The National Commission for Women had issued a notice to Oberoi on Monday.

“Even if one woman is offended by my reply to the meme, it calls for remedial action. Apologies...tweet deleted,” he tweeted on Tuesday. Oberoi also added that he had spent the last 10 years “empowering more than 2,000 underprivileged girls”.

The commission’s chairperson Rekha Sharma had asked Oberoi to apologise on social media, as well as in person to Bachchan. The commission had said that Oberoi’s tweet was insulting and misogynistic. “The post made is extremely offensive, unethical and shows disrespect towards the dignity of women,” the statement said.

Oberoi had earlier said that he would like to explain to the National Commission for Women and the Maharashtra Commission for Women that he had done nothing wrong. But Sharma said that the panel will consider taking legal action if he refuses to comply with the order to apologise.

The actor also claimed that people were making a huge matter out of something “funny”. “Someone had sent me a meme which made fun of me,” he said. “I laughed and I appreciated the person for his creativity. If someone mocks you, you should not take it seriously.”

Oberoi also referred to the arrest of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Priyanka Sharma in West Bengal for posting a meme on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. “Didi put someone behind bars for a meme, people are saying I should be put behind bars too,” he said. “They could not stop my film [PM Narendra Modi], now they are trying this.”

Vivek Oberoi, who has campaigned for the BJP during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, stars in a biopic of Narendra Modi, which will be released on Friday.