Amid a political row over his conduct, Tamil Nadu Higher Education Minister P. Viswanathan on Thursday expressed regret while insisting his act of providing “first aid” to students during a marathon event in Madurai had been wrongly portrayed.

Mr. Viswanathan said he was shocked that ulterior motives were being attributed to his actions in the incident. “As my conduct appears to have given room for misrepresentation, I express my regret,” he said.

In a statement issued through the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, Mr. Viswanathan referred to the recent awareness marathon organised in Madurai on the themes of drug abuse and sexual crimes against women. He said some students who had participated in the 4-km run fainted because of the intense heat. 

The Minister said he had stepped in to assist the affected students purely out of humanitarian concern. “As the father of a daughter, the help I rendered out of compassion is being portrayed with a wrong motive, which causes me deep pain,” he said.

The statement comes amid criticism and discussion over the Minister’s conduct while attending to students who collapsed during the event. While defending his actions as an immediate response in an emergency situation, Mr. Viswanathan said he regretted that his conduct had been open to misrepresentation.