Senior Congress leader Sudhakaran landed himself in trouble after he made a sexist remark against Kerala’s Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. While addressing party workers on Wednesday, the former parliamentarian said the Chief Minister had failed to act like a man when it came to running his office and his tenure was worse than that of a woman.

“When workers of the CPM eulogized Pinarayi Vijayan as a man with two hearts, we also thought that after becoming chief minister, he might do something like a man. But he not just failed to act like a man, he has performed worse than a woman,” the politician said in the meeting. As soon as controversy broke out of his statement, he apologized for his remarks, claiming that he was “misquoted” and that the comment was taken out of context, although the evidence has been recorded on camera.

The former Lok Sabha MP made headlines previously during the party’s protests against Supreme Court order ending a ban on women below 50, or of menstrual age, entering the Sabarimala temple. He had reportedly said at a press conference that menstruating women are “impure” and should not be allowed to enter the temple.