Former TNCC president Selvaperunthagai and Rajya Sabha member Praveen Chakravarty trade barbs - The HinduPublished - September 17, 2026 02:16 am IST - CHENNAIUdhav Naig U 10233The Congress party should be in an alliance with a party that accepts party leader Rahul Gandhi as the next Prime Ministerial candidate, former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K. Selvaperunthagai has said.Speaking at a press meet on Wednesday, Mr. Selvaperunthagai said, “The alliance partners should accept that Rahul Gandhi is the Prime Ministerial candidate. If they don’t, why should we be in the [TVK-led] alliance?”Responding to Mr. Selvaperunthagai’s remarks, Congress Rajya Sabha member Praveen Chakravarty, while speaking to reporters at the airport asked, “Who is he [Mr. Selvaperunthagai] today? He could have been anyone in the past.”Stating that there was no confusion, he further added, “Even recently, when we got together for a meeting to decide on the name for the alliance [headed by TVK], which I had attended, we were talking and laughing with each other…Chief Minister [C Joseph Vijay] was also there. The alliance is strong. There are no issues.”Later in the evening, Mr. Selvaperunthagai criticised Mr. Chakravarty in a statement for his comments and charged that he was exhibiting his “elitist mindset”.“I said why do we need an alliance with a party that doesn’t accept our leader Rahul Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate. But, this intellectual says that Chief Minister was smiling and talking to him when they met. Is that the reason for continuing in the alliance? Chief Minister can state openly that Rahul Gandhi is the PM candidate just once,” he said.Mr. Selvaperunthagai also added, “Please ask the Chief Minister why comments critical of PM Modi, Amit Shah and BJP are being removed from the Assembly records.”Published - September 17, 2026 02:16 am ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }