Tamil Nadu Health Minister C Vijayabaskar apologised on Friday for making sexist remarks against a reporter, and said he treated all journalists as his “brothers and sisters”.

On Thursday, Vijayabaskar praised the reporter’s spectacles on camera and called her “beautiful” multiple times in response to a question she had posed about a meeting of his party’s legislators.

“Your specs are nice,” the minister was heard telling the journalist in a video clip. When the reporter repeated her question, he said again: “Your specs look good!”

“I wear these specs everyday,” the reporter retorted, according to The News Minute. “What was discussed in the meeting?”

Vijayabaskar replied: “Okay. Today, you look beautiful. You look beautiful.”

On Friday, a group of journalists met Vijayabaskar, after which he expressed regret, The Week reported. “To me, all journalists are my brothers and sisters,” he said. “There was no intention behind making such a comment.”

The Times of India quoted him as saying: “That remark was made in order to divert the topic away from political questions.”