COIMBATORE: In comments that are likely to trigger a controversy and cause trouble within the INDIA bloc, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K Selvaperunthagai on Wednesday said Congress has been cheated for 57 years and asked how long the party should seek alms for seats with another party.

Addressing the party workers in Dharmapuri, Selvaperunthagai said it’s up for the Congress to stop the betrayal that has been happening since 1967.

For those not familiar with Tamil Nadu politics, that was the year that the Congress lost power in Tamil Nadu to the DMK and has never been able to regain its foothold in the State. Since then, it has been dependent on the Dravidian parties, DMK and AIADMK.

“From asking for seats during polls, the Congress should grow into a stature to allocate constituencies to alliance parties. We waited patiently for the last 57 years. The party cadres should work hard to realise the dream of Kamarajar rule in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Claiming that it was a shame that several factions exist in the party, Selvaperunthagai said many who got posts did not function properly and hesitate to even hold the party flag.

“We are under the compulsion to strengthen the party. How long should we seek alms for seats from another party? When Rahul Gandhi came to Tamil Nadu, he was worried over the party’s current scenario. Once Congress allocated seats to all parties, it should happen once again in Tamil Nadu,” he said.

Later, while addressing the media, the TNCC president said the BJP will not win even 100 out of the over 300 Lok Sabha seats for which elections were held so far. “After realising this, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started to praise Muslims. He saw this as an election between religions and not as one for the nation. This is what Rahul Gandhi referred to as hate politics,” he said.