India, April 13 -- Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi stirred a controversy after he urged students to chant "Jai Shri Ram" during an event at a private engineering college in Madurai on Saturday.

Ravi, who was the chief guest at the college function, was addressing the students during the event when he ended his speech with an unexpected call for the students to chant "Jai Shri Ram!"

The phrase, which has long been associated with Hindu religious sentiment and, in recent years, the political right, immediately triggered sharp criticism from opposition leaders.

Congress MLA JMH Hassan Maulaana said the Governor's remarks were highly condemnable, stating that the latter was speaking the language of the RSS and the BJP. He said that such remark...