CHENNAI: The clash of ideologies between Governor RN Ravi and the DMK played out again at the Republic Day ceremony held in Chennai on Friday. While the governor invoked Lord Ram and Bharatiya in his R-Day address, the state government cocked a snook at the BJP by presenting communal harmony award to fact-checker Mohammed Zubair, co-founder of AltNews, who is known for his run-ins with Hindu outfits.
Hailing Sri Ram as the ‘common thread that unites Bharat’, the governor said Lord Ram’s story has inspired and enriched Tamil literature since the Sangam period. A few minutes later, Chief Minister M K Stalin presented Kottai Ameer Communal Harmony Award to Zubair. “He stopped the spread of rumours against Tamil Nadu and acted to prevent violence caused by caste, religion, race and language,” in the state, the government said in the citation.