Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
A public spat has erupted within the Tamil Nadu Congress over its alliance with TVK and the recent campaign projecting Vijay as a potential prime ministerial face, with two senior party leaders — former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) chief Selvaperunthagai and former MP Praveen Chakravarthy — trading sharp remarks.
The dispute began after Selvaperunthagai said any alliance involving the Congress should accept Rahul Gandhi as its prime ministerial candidate.
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“If Rahul Gandhi is the PM, alliance partners should accept that. If not, what is the point of being in this alliance? It is only honest to have an alliance with those who openly and sincerely accept Rahul as the prime minister,” Selvaperunthagai had said.
Chakravarthy, on Wednesday, dismissed the former state Congress chief’s intervention, saying there was no confusion within the alliance and that TVK had not officially taken a position against Rahul Gandhi.
Addressing reporters, Chakravarthy questioned Selvaperunthagai’s relevance to the issue.
“Who is he now? Why waste time unnecessarily? There might have been someone earlier, in the past, whatever might have been, now all that is completely unnecessary,” Chakravarthy said.
He maintained that there had been no official statement from the TVK on the question of the prime ministerial candidate.
“Until now, from the TVK side, regarding the ruling coalition, especially regarding our leader being the prime ministerial candidate, they haven’t spoken officially,” he said.
Chakravarthy said the relationship between the Congress and its alliance partners remained strong and there was no confusion over the alliance.
He also referred to a recent meeting attended by alliance parties, saying that the participants had discussed the alliance without any disagreement.
“Now, a meeting was held for this coalition. All the alliance parties participated in it. I also went. We sat for two hours and the Chief Minister was also there. We spoke well, smiled and spoke, there is no problem whatsoever,” Chakravarthy said.
“The alliance is as strong today, prior to forming the government, as it was then. There is no problem at all,” he added.
After Chakravarthy’s criticism, the former TPCC chief responded directly to his comments. In a post on X, he questioned whether informal interactions between leaders could be treated as an indication that TVK chief Vijay had accepted Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate.
“A person who claims to be an intellectual asks who is Selvaperunthagai to talk about the alliance,” he said.
He also took aim at Chakravarthy’s reference to the meeting with the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, asking whether laughing and talking together amounted to an agreement on Rahul Gandhi’s candidature.
“The Chief Minister laughed and spoke for a long time, says that intellectual. Is laughing with you for a long time the agreement to continue in the alliance?” Selvaperunthagai said.
He added, “Well, if the Chief Minister had said at least once that Rahul Gandhi is the Prime Ministerial candidate, it would have been enough. The problem would have been solved.”
Selvaperunthagai further asked whether Chakravarthy had sought an explicit commitment from the Chief Minister on Rahul Gandhi’s candidature.
“Don’t even let the Chief Minister say it, let someone on the frontline of that party say it, don’t even let that happen. You insisted to the Chief Minister, who spoke to you for a long time, that our party’s Prime Ministerial candidate is our leader, Rahul Gandhi. Did he accept it and at least give you a guarantee? If he did, then at least tell me that,” he said.
Selvaperunthagai also brought up another issue involving the Tamil Nadu government, asking Chakravarthy to question the Chief Minister about references to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and the BJP being removed from Assembly records.
He also criticised Chakravarthy personally, arguing that political positions did not determine a person’s contribution to a movement.
“It is easy to enjoy a position that you have not worked for; it is difficult to work and develop a movement. The height of the position does not determine the political height of a person; it is the work and dedication he has done for the movement that will determine it,” Selvaperunthagai said.
The Congress leader said political positions could change over time, while the contributions of party workers would remain part of the organisation’s history.
“I will say it out loud. I am a Congress worker who wants Mr. Rahul Gandhi to become the Prime Minister. A son of this soil, a native with self-respect,” Selvaperunthagai added.
Recently, when Vijay completed 100 days in office, a section of TVK leaders had batted for Vijay as the prime ministerial face for the 2029 polls. Some ministers also
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
