An Indian lawmaker has appeared in Parliament dressed like Adolf Hitler, complete with a toothbrush moustache and wearing a khaki coat with swastika symbols on his pocket and arm.

Naramalli Sivaprasad, who also raised his hand in a Nazi salute, performed the 'stunt' to ask for more funds for the development of his state in southern India.

He said he wanted to send a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to 'follow Hitler', however it is not clear what he meant by this.

Shocking: Indian MP Naramalli Sivaprasad turned up to Parliament dressed as Adolf Hitler

He complained that Mr Modi had gone back on a promise to provide extra funds for his Andhra Pradesh state.

'He does not get the pulse of what people want and I want to urge him to not be like him (Hitler),' he said.

Mr Modi's government has denied any comparisons to the Nazi German dictator.

Mr Sivaprasad's powerful regional group, The Telugu Desam Party, broke alliance with Mr Modi's government in March over the lack of funding.

Mr Sivaprasad also raised his hand in a Nazi salute outside Parliament, as part of a 'stunt' to ask for more funds for his Andhra Pradesh state

The lawmaker said he had dressed up as the Nazi leader as he wanted to send a message to Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to 'follow Hitler', however it is not clear what he meant

It also unsuccessfully tried to bring down the government through a no-confidence motion last month in Parliament.

Mr Sivaprasad often wears fancy dress as he raises different issues, and has turned up to parliament as a farmer, a cattle herder, a Muslim cleric and a woman in the past.

Hitler remains a figure of fascination in India, where the Holocaust is not well known, and is widely seen more as a strong leader than a genocidal dictator.

His book, Mein Kampf, can be found in many bookstores, and bootleg copies are regularly sold in the streets of New Delhi and other large cities.