Indian MP arrives at parliament dressed as Hitler

An Indian MP turned up to parliament dressed up as Adolf Hitler to “send a message” to the prime minister.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) deputy Naramalli Sivaprasad told reporters he had adopted the costume to remind Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to “follow the footsteps” of the Nazi dictator.

Sivaprasad added that he wanted to hold Modi to his promise to give Special Category Status (SCS) to the south-eastern state of Andhra Pradesh, according to the Times of India. The status is awarded to deprived or otherwise disadvantaged states and entitles them to extra govenrment funding and investment.

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Wearing a coat emblazoned with a swastika and sporting a toothbrush moustache, Sivaprasad said, “I wanted to send a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to follow Adolf Hitler... During elections, he promised SCS to the people of the state but has then back-tracked. He does not get the pulse of what people want and I want to urge him to not be like him [Hitler].”

This is not the first time Sivaprasad has adopted fancy dress to make a point, although previous displays have been less shocking.

He sometimes “dresses as a woman, other times a farmer or a cattle herder, depending on the political point he wants to convey,” says Financial Express.

During a past stunt, Sivasprasad said: “I am an artist and cannot sit quiet. I have to express myself. To represent the plight of women who were hit by demonetisation, I also dressed like one.”

The First Post reports that during the Budget Session of Parliament in April, Sivaprasad attended a session dressed as a school student. He arrived in Parliament wearing a shirt and shorts and reportedly said “Modi is the bad boy of the class.”