Agartala, Sept. 1 -- Tripura's Minister for Panchayati Raj and Higher Education, Kishor Barman, courted controversy on Monday after a segment of his speech went viral on social media, in which he described the news media as one of the "enemies" of elected representatives.

He also suggested that enemies could exist within one's own party.

"When you become a public representative, you come under public scrutiny. Subsequently, you are gifted with enemies. They may be from your own party, the opposition, or even the media," Barman said during his address.

The remarks were made at the inauguration of a two-day capacity-building workshop on Panchayati Raj at the AD Nagar Panchayat Raj Training Institute, which was attended by Chief Minister ...