"Praveen Chakravarty not voice of Congress": Karti Chidambaram defends DMK after AIPC Chairman's rising debt remarks

Speaking exclusively to ANI, Chidambaram downplayed Praveen Chakravarty, who also heads the AICC Technology and Data Cell, and defended the DMK-led government, asserting that Chakravarty's views do not represent the official voice of the Congress.

"We have many wings in our party. I was even surprised to find an engineer's wing of the party in Tamil Nadu. So, he heads one wing, that's all. It's not the centrality of my party, and neither is he the leader of the Congress party, nor is he the voice of the Congress party with a long track record," he said.

Defending the DMK government from Praveen Chakravarty's revelation of the increasing debt of Tamil Nadu, Karti Chidambaram said that the development of a state can't be measured by a single parameter.

"If you want to measure a state, there are many, many parameters. If I have to measure your fitness, and I only take your eyesight into account, do I say you're fit or unfit? Can I say that? No, I can't. Can I? I have to look at so many parameters. I have to look at, say, the number of doctors per thousand people. I'll have to see what is the school going population of the ratio of the people," he said.

"So there are 100 factors which you must measure. You can't simply look at it. And even if the debt is there, is the state capable of servicing the debt or not?" he added.

This comes after Praveen Chakravarty posted on X that Tamil Nadu's debt situation is "alarming," noting it has the highest outstanding debt of all states and has surpassed Uttar Pradesh.

In December 2025, Praveen Chakravarty took to X to share graphical data comparing the state debt between Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh and wrote, "TN has the highest outstanding debt of all states. In 2010, UP had more than twice TN's debt. Now, TN has higher debt than UP. TN's interest burden (%) is the 3rd highest after PB & HR. TN's debt/gdp is still much higher than pre-COVID levels. TN's debt situation is alarming!"

Notably, the Congress and DMK are preparing for the upcoming 2026 Assembly elections. However, the Congress-DMK alliance is facing internal friction primarily over power-sharing and seat allocation.

Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Sunday said the party was "still awaiting the formation" of a committee by its ally, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, to discuss alliance-related matters, asserting that the Congress "stands by its principles" as a national party.

The Congress and the DMK are key constituents of the opposition's INDIA bloc and have been long-time allies in Tamil Nadu politics.

The remarks come amid discussions on coordination and seat-sharing within the alliance as political parties begin preparations for the state polls later this year. The DMK, led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, has been a dominant political force in the state and plays a central role in opposition coordination at the national level.

The Tamil Nadu assembly consists of 234 seats, of which the DMK-Congress alliance won 151 in the 2021 elections. (ANI)