CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K Selvaperunthagai on Monday said he had filed a formal complaint with the All India Congress Committee against Praveen Chakravarthy, chairperson of the All India Professionals’ Congress, for praising the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh while criticising Tamil Nadu.

Addressing reporters in Chennai, Selvaperunthagai said the Congress had never aligned with the RSS or the BJP, and had never endorsed their ideology. He wondered how a senior party functionary could justify the governance style of Uttar Pradesh and still claim to represent the Congress.

The party would not permit any individual to misuse its ideology or the name of Rahul Gandhi, directly or indirectly, and warned that no parallel organisation would be allowed to operate in Tamil Nadu.

The controversy follows a social media post by Chakravarthy that highlighted Tamil Nadu’s debt position and compared it unfavourably with Uttar Pradesh. Selvaperunthagai said the remarks amounted to endorsing the BJP-ruled State while undermining the Dravidian Model governance in Tamil Nadu.

He criticised the situation in Uttar Pradesh and said people there faced consequences if they questioned the administration. Chakravarthy’s comments, he said, did not reflect the voice of the Congress and appeared aimed at creating confusion within the INDIA bloc.

Chakravarthy’s reported meeting with TVK president Vijay recently also triggered political speculation over Congress exploring options outside the DMK alliance. Dismissing them, Selvaperunthagai said the DMK-Congress alliance remained intact and discussions were focused only on seat sharing.

Recently, the Congress high command has set up a five-member committee headed by AICC Tamil Nadu in-charge Girish Chodankar to conduct seat-sharing negotiations with the DMK ahead of the elections.