New Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat has berated women who wear ripped jeans, speaking at a meeting of the state commission for the protection of child rights in Dehradun on Wednesday.

“Once I was going to Jaipur by flight. A behenji (sister) sat next to me. I saw she was wearing gumboots. When I looked above, I saw her jeans were ripped at the knees. She had two children with her,” he said.

“She told me she managed an NGO. She moves in society. What kind of message was she giving to society? What culture will she impart to the children?”

As the video circulated on social media, Twitter users pointed out that there was no doubt about the “creepy” message the chief minister had sent out. More than one woman said he had revealed himself to be someone who “checks out women” in airplanes and asked if there was any hope of a woman victim in Uttarakhand getting justice.

Rawat, who became chief minister on March 10, said: “Ripped jeans are a status symbol here.”

Historians say that torn or ripped jeans signified the working class in the 1970s but came to symbolise a subculture phenomenon in America in the 1990s, with many considering it a statement of rebellion against established trends. Eventually, it turned into a fashion statement.

Suryakant Dhasmana, a Congress politician in Uttarakhand, advised the chief minister not to shoot off his mouth.

“He should keep his tongue in check. He should learn not to insult people’s choice of clothes,” he said.