TNCC Chief Selvaperunthagai Objects To EPS Calling Him A Beggar

EPS during his Nilgiris campaign said, “Today, the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President, Mr. Selvaperunthagai, is speaking. He has come from many parties. Have you seen beggar’s wearing patched shirt? Like a beggar’s coat that is patched up, he has switched many parties. Whenever he joins a party, he follows that party’s ideology. That is Selvaperunthagai. He is not trying to develop his party today. The state in-charge for the Tamil Nadu Congress appointed a person who is giving his opinion. The former Tamil Nadu Congress Committee President, Mr. Alagiri, is giving his opinion. He demands that since they are part of the ruling coalition, they need more seats. He even demands a share in the government if the DMK comes to power again, saying the DMK will not come to power otherwise.

But Selvaperunthagai, as a Congress party president, is saying, “When Rahul Gandhi himself is not asking for a share in the government, you should not ask for it.” If he were truly a Congress loyalist, if he had a love for the Congress party, if he had worked for the Congress since the beginning, would he have had that thought? He does not have that thought at all. We must realize that the current Congress President, Mr. Selvaperunthagai, is today a supporter of the DMK and the DMK government. He is not loyal to the Congress party, but he is loyal to the DMK. He speaks loyally in the assembly, and he speaks loyally outside as well. However, the Congress workers and the Congress leaders have raised the sentiment that they want a coalition government and a share in the government. The split between the Congress and the DMK has begun now.”

While EPS questioned Selvaperunthagai’s loyalty to his party, the TNCC chief responded on social media, denouncing the “beggar in a patched shirt” remark as not just a personal attack on an elected representative, but also a disrespectful jibe at millions of economically disadvantaged people. He argued that seeking the trust of the electorate in a democracy should not be demeaned as “begging,” and accused EPS of forgetting the very people who had helped him rise to power.

TNCC chief Selvaperunthagai wrote, “To insult a representative elected by the people as a ‘beggar’ is not just an act of persecuting an individual; it is an act that degrades the dignity and lives of crores of poor and marginalized people. Such a venomous comment reveals the depth of anti-social sentiments entrenched in politics and the arrogance of prosperity that is unaware of true hardship. Seeking the trust of the people is not begging; it is the very foundation of democracy. You walked the path of leaders like MGR and Jayalalithaa, and with the votes of the marginalized, you became an MLA, a Minister, and eventually crawled your way up to become the Chief Minister. Yet, today, you stand so far removed that you cannot see the pain and life struggles of the people. You travel in someone else’s luxurious Bentley car, concealing your face in Delhi. Then, how can you know or understand the suffering and crises faced by the poor of this country? When you call me a ‘beggar – with a patched-up shirt,’ you are not just insulting me, but also the self-respect and dignity of crores of Tamils who live in humble circumstances. Even if I wear torn clothes, those clothes carry the tears, dreams, and hopes of the downtrodden people of this nation. The votes cast by the marginalized people are my voice and my political identity. I am indebted to them for their self-respect and their daily struggle for life. That dignity and that struggle are not worthy of anyone’s contempt. Do those who believe in democracy support Edappadi Palaniswami’s anti-democratic comment?”