‘I deeply regret’: Mallabaruah posts note amid backlash over ‘lower rung’ remark
The Urban Affairs Minister said he did not intend to belittle journalists but admitted his choice of words was inappropriate and hurtful.

Jayanta Mallabaruah (Photo: @jayanta_malla / X)
Guwahati, June 29: Assam PHED and Housing & Urban Affairs minister Jayanta Mallabaruah has publicly expressed regret after his remarks towards a journalist triggered widespread condemnation and protests by media organisations across the state.
Facing mounting backlash, the minister took to a social media platform on Sunday to issue a note, saying, "...I have not intentionally insulted any journalist. Yet, if my words have hurt someone's sentiments, I truly regret it."
In his post, Mallabaruah highlighted his long-standing family ties with journalism, pointing out that his father served as a local correspondent for the reputed Assamese daily Dainik Asom for 22 years.
“Therefore, my deep respect for journalists has been nurtured since childhood, and this respect has been within me, is there, and will always be,” he wrote.
He said that he did not intend to belittle journalists as a whole but admitted that his choice of words was inappropriate and hurtful.
According to Mallabaruah, the remark was directed at a particular journalist from a specific news channel whom he accused of asking repetitive questions with an agenda driven by the channel’s owner.
Mallabaruah further alleged that the chief editor of the concerned news channel has since launched a deliberate campaign to tarnish his public image over what he described as an “inadvertent mistake".
He urged the journalist fraternity and the public to view the entire press conference video to form an informed opinion and requested that his remarks not be "misunderstood or generalised" as an attack on the media at large.
Earlier, journalist associations, including the Gauhati Press Club, staged demonstrations on Saturday, strongly condemning the minister’s remarks and demanding a formal apology. Various organisations have also threatened to boycott Mallabaruah’s news coverage until he tenders an unconditional and official apology.
The controversy erupted following a press conference on Friday, during which Mallabaruah, in a moment of visible frustration, referred to a journalist as a “tolor srenir manuh”—a phrase that loosely translates to “a person from the lower rung.”
The comment, captured on video, quickly went viral, drawing sharp criticism for its perceived insult to the entire journalist community.
The Urban Affairs Minister's post comes after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, on Saturday, said he would personally urge the minister to apologise if the comments were indeed inappropriate.