Moushumi Chatterjee criticises anchor for wearing pants at Surat event

Chatterjee, who joined the BJP on Jan 2, interrupted in the beginning of the event and questioned about the anchor's outfit.

The anchor, who later refused to address the media, was wearing a skin-tight trouser and a shirt.

When the anchor was about to begin the event, Chatterjee, who was accompanied by Surat BJP chief Nitin Bhajiyawala, told the host as quoted by The Indian Express, "These clothes you are wearing are not proper, you should wear either a saree or a dress (kurta-churidar)."

The veteran actress, who had a stint with the Congress in the past, also said that she advised the anchor like her mother and not as a saffron leader.

Chatterjee said she has the right to teach young people about the appropriateness of a dress at an event.

Chatterjee, 70, made her acting debut with Bengali film Balika Badhu way back in 1967.

She was a prominent face in Bengali film industry for decades. Her last Bengali film was Goynar Baksho, which released in 2013. Chatterjee also acted in a number of Hindi films.

Before her political journey with the BJP, which is aiming to win 22 out of 42 seats in West Bengal in the forthcoming General Elections, Chatterjee had unsuccessfully contested Lok Sabha elections from Kolkata north-east constituency as a Congress candidate back in 2004.

Commenting on her past association with the diametrically opponent party of the BJP, Chatterjee said as quoted by The Indian Express, "I did not know politics earlier. Pranab Mukherjee was close to my father-in-law, Hemant Mukherjee. Once, he called me and told me to come to Delhi as they had an important work for me. I was at a shoot in Mahabaleshwar and told him that I cannot come. He told me to quit the movie as the country was priority.

"When I told him that I will have to return the signing amount, he said he will pay the producer. In Delhi, they told me to either campaign for them or contest elections. I contested from north Kolkata as per their instructions. The fight was between three of us, Mohammed Salim, myself and Ajit Panja, who was the biggest political opponent to me. I worked as per their instructions. I lost the elections.”