Kerala Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan finally expressed regret for his remarks on the family of slain National Security Guard commando Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan.

"I am sad that Sandeep's family was hurt by my remark. I apologise for that," Achuthanandan said at a press conference at Thiruvananthapuram.

"If my comments have hurt Major Unnikrishnan's family, I'm sorry and I regret it. But now the Opposition is trying to misinterpret it. So I thought of giving a clarification," he said.

Earlier in the day, Achuthanandan had denied having made derogatory remarks against Unnikrishnan's family and had accused the media of misinterpreting his statement.

"The media and opposition parties have twisted my statement," Achuthanandan said in the state assembly.

"I have not made the dog remark. People who made it can swallow it," he added.

On Tuesday, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat had described Achuthanandan's remark against Unnikrishnan's family as "regrettable" - a view that was echoed by several Communist politicians.