Even Speaker JCD Prabhakar later put an end to the discussion, saying that “all the members in the House have great respect for the media,” but the damage was already done, leading to a heated debate.

The minister said the government had attracted Rs 1 lakh crore in investments in three months, while one lakh youth were expected to get employment. But her remarks on ‘paid news’ drew strong objections from Opposition members, who said such comments were an insult to the media and democracy.

The exchange took place during the debate on grant demands, when DMK member Austin cited figures on industrial and economic growth under the previous DMK government. Referring to a recent investors’ conference, he questioned how many of the projects were new investments and how many involved expansion by existing investors.

Responding to the figures, Keerthana said Austin had made a serious allegation based on an incorrect report published by Projects Today, which she described as a private publication. She said Projects Today would write anything for money and that such a report should not be used to portray theState’s investment climate negatively.

DMK Whip EV Velu objected to the minister’s remarks, saying that stating that journalists would write anything for money was an insult to democracy. DMK member Thangam Thennarasu said the media acted as a “third eye” by scrutinising the government’s functioning and that ministers should not make generalised remarks about newspapers and media organisations. The Speaker then referred to earlier statements made in the Assembly on the use of media reports during debates. He said that information presented in the House should be supported by evidence and that not every report appearing outside the House could be treated as an official record.

The Speaker said the minister had described only the report cited by Austin as unsubstantiated and had provided official information in response. He said her remarks should not be construed as an attack on the entire media.