The Governor and the Chief Minister with the award winners at the ‘At Home’ function held at Raj Bhavan. , Photo credit: B Velankanni Raj
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin and some of his cabinet colleagues attended the ‘At Home’ reception hosted by Governor RN Ravi on Republic Day at Raj Bhavan.
Allies of the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance boycotted the event as they had announced earlier.
Among the ministers who participated in the event were Duraimurugan, I. Periyasamy, K. Ponmudi, EV Velu, KKSSR Ramachandran and Udhayanidhi Stalin.
Last year, Mr Stalin had boycotted the Republic Day ‘at home’ reception, which was to be held on April 14 after a delay due to COVID-19.
He had cited his frustration with the governor for the delay in sending the bill exempting Tamil Nadu from NEET to the President.
However, he did attend the ‘At Home’ reception hosted by the Governor on Independence Day.
While AIADMK interim general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami did not appear, former AIADMK Minister ‘Agriculture’ S.S. Krishnamurthy and Saveur S. Ramachandran participated in the event.
BJP state president K. Annamalai, Tamil Maanila Congress President G.K. Vasan and Puthiya Tamilgam president K. Krishnasamy was among other leaders who participated in the event.
Two NGOs received awards for excellence in service in the categories ‘Environment’ and ‘Social Service’. These awards were instituted last year by the Governor. Vanitha Mohan, managing trustee of Siruthuli, received the award in ‘Environment’, while RP Krishnamachari, secretary of the Swami Vivekananda Rural Development Trust, received the award in ‘social service’. Both the awards carried a cash prize of ₹ 10 lakh each.
rolling trophies
Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi, Chennai Collector Amrita Jyoti, Tiruvallur Collector Alby John Varghese, Thanjavur Collector Dinesh Ponraj Oliver and Coimbatore Corporation Commissioner M. Prathap received rolling trophies for Flag Day fund collection for 2020 and 2021 in various categories .
Police Department, Fire and Rescue Services Department and Information and Public Relations Department won the first, second and third prizes respectively in the Republic Day celebrations on Thursday morning.
Queen Mary College and Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Ashok Nagar, Chennai won the awards for the best cultural performance.