Kolkata, Nov 19 (IANS): West Bengal Governor M.K. Narayanan who earlier courted controversy saying "students should be beaten up" said Tuesday that he now regretted making the comment.

Addressing students at a city college, Narayanan admitted that "he should not have said what he said about beating up students".

"I regretted because you people (media) made such a song and dance about it," was Narayanan's reply to media questions about why he regretted making the remarks.

Narayanan in August had said "I think the students should be beaten up" while reacting to two back-to-back incidents of students assaulting teachers in educational institutions in the state.

The governor's statement had created a controversy after a city-based rights organisation approached the West Bengal Human Rights Commission seeking a public apology from Narayanan for his "provocative" remarks.

The commission, however, rejected the complaint saying there was no possible violation of human rights by the remarks.