Three Indian politicians from a morally conservative party, including a women’s affairs minister, have resigned after being caught watching pornography on a mobile phone in parliament.

News channels broadcast footage showing Karnataka state minister for cooperation Laxman Savadi sharing a porn clip with his colleague CC Patil, the minister for women and child development, while sitting in the state assembly.

The owner of the phone, state minister for ports, science and technology Krishna Palemar, also quit.

“We are requesting the honourable speaker of the house to conduct an inquiry and we’ll come out with a clean chit,” Mr Patil said, denying they were deliberately looking at porn.

The three men said they did not want to cause any embarrassment for their party, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which rules the state and is in opposition at a national level.