Chennai: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) president K. Selvaperunthagai has filed a formal complaint with the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president, objecting to remarks made by party colleague Praveen Chakravarty, comparing Tamil Nadu’s finances unfavourably with Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking to reporters in Chennai Friday, Selvaperunthagai said such remarks were completely against the Congress’ ideological position.
“Congress partymen will never ever praise the BJP or the RSS. We will never justify the Uttar Pradesh government. There is a jungle raj happening in Uttar Pradesh. If Praveen Chakravarty is justifying it, how can he be a Congressperson?” he asked.
Selvaperunthagai said he had taken the matter to the party’s national leadership.
“I have filed a complaint with the AICC president. We will not allow anybody to misuse the name of our leader Rahul Gandhi—directly or indirectly. Why should somebody misuse his name in Tamil Nadu? We cannot allow some individuals to run a party parallel to the TNCC,” he said.
The controversy stems from an X post by Praveen Chakravarty, in which he said Tamil Nadu currently has the highest outstanding debt among all states, noting that while Uttar Pradesh had more than double Tamil Nadu’s debt in 2010, Tamil Nadu has now overtaken UP.
He also pointed out that Tamil Nadu’s interest burden is the third highest after Punjab and Haryana, and that the debt-to-GSDP ratio remains well above pre-Covid levels.
Reacting to it, Selvaperunthagai said Chakravarty’s comments amounted to endorsing BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh while undermining Tamil Nadu.
“We allowed his certain activities earlier because they were small things and largely for publicity. But today, upholding Uttar Pradesh’s governance above Tamil Nadu cannot be accepted. No Congressman in Tamil Nadu will accept this,” he said.
“These intellectuals should answer what kind of governance is happening in Uttar Pradesh. People cannot even question their own government there. If anyone questions, they are encountered, jailed, or a JCB will arrive at their house. Whatever Praveen Chakravarty says is not the voice of the Congress party,” he said, accusing him of attempting to create confusion within the INDIA alliance in Tamil Nadu.
The issue also drew a sharp response from the ruling DMK. Party spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai questioned Chakravarty’s silence on the Union government’s finances.
“Has this expert offered such insightful opinions to the Union BJP government, which has borrowed approximately Rs 200 lakh crore? Has he said that India’s situation is a cause for concern? Are RSS stooges present only in the BJP?” Annadurai asked in a post on X.
The episode has exposed fresh strains within the ruling alliance in Tamil Nadu, with the TNCC making it clear that any narrative seen as legitimising BJP-ruled states at the expense of Tamil Nadu will be firmly opposed.
‘Driven by personal ambitions’
Several Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu also alleged that Praveen Chakravarty’s recent political interventions are driven by personal ambition rather than party interest.
According to party sources, Chakravarty is said to be pushing for a Congress–TVK alliance.
Chakravarty, who joined the Congress in 2017, has faced resistance from state leaders who accuse him of attempting to destabilise the INDIA alliance in Tamil Nadu. Several senior leaders, both in the TNCC and the AICC, are said to have distanced themselves from him after raising concerns about his political judgement.
Party insiders also point to his past role in the now-defunct ‘Shakti Project’, terminated by the Congress leadership, as evidence that his strategies have previously yielded poor electoral outcomes
Nevertheless, DMK looks at the recent attack by Praveen not as political but ideological.
A senior DMK leader told ThePrint that Praveen Chakravarthy’s recent focus on Tamil Nadu’s debt was a “deliberate political narrative” aimed at undermining the DMK government’s cash assistance schemes for women and Pongal relief.
“Earlier, he openly attacked financial assistance for women. When that argument failed to resonate—especially since Congress-ruled Telangana and Karnataka also run similar schemes—he shifted the goalposts. Now, the so-called debt burden of states has become the new tool.” the leader said.
Drawing parallels with the BJP’s past approach, the DMK leader recalled that in 2022, the RSS-BJP ecosystem opposed similar schemes, even warning the Supreme Court that India would “end up like Sri Lanka”.
“The same BJP later adopted cash-for-women schemes. Our message is clear, we will never ever stop the monthly financial assistance for women under the DMK government,” the leader added.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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