CHENNAI: The All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC) chairman Praveen Chakravarty’s open criticism of Tamil Nadu’s fiscal management, and indirectly the Congress’ close ally and the ruling party DMK, has attracted ridicule from within his party with TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai stating that he has launched a formal complaint with the party’s high command.
The TNCC leader reiterated that the Congress will not break away from the DMK alliance.
Praveen, who has his roots in Tamil Nadu, recently ran into another controversy due to his meeting with actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam president Vijay, which led to speculations that the Congress was considering TVK as another potential option to ally with. TNCC, however, quickly distanced itself from such speculations.
On Sunday, Praveen, quote-tweeting a post on X by TNIE regarding DMK’s parliamentary party leader Kanimozhi’s comments on Tamil Nadu’s economic growth under the present government, Praveen shared certain figures to contend that TN’s debt burden is at an “alarming level”, drawing parallels with the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh.
When contacted, Selvaperunthagai expressed anger over the remarks and questioned how any Congress worker could praise a (UP) government where, according to him, dissent is met with arrests, bulldozers or encounters. He added that he has lodged a formal complaint and stressed that the party would not allow anyone to “misuse” the name of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi or bring disrepute to the party.
Congress MPs Sasikanth Senthil, Jothimani and Congress spokesperson Mohan Kumaramangalan also criticised Praveen.
Alleging that Praveen was relying on absolute numbers, Senthil said judging a state by its total debt and not the debt-to-GDP ratio is akin to judging a person’s fitness only by body mass without considering height or muscle strength.
Jothimani, in a detailed post on X, said Tamil Nadu performed far better in education, healthcare, industrial growth, social justice and welfare delivery. She noted that Uttar Pradesh lagged behind in several indicators.