'Smacks of low political opportunism': Mani Shankar Aiyar slams Congress's TVK tie-up decision

New Delhi: Terming his party's decision to ally with the TVK in Tamil Nadu as "dreadful", veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Friday said it smacked of "low political opportunism" and asserted that if the move facilitates the backdoor entry of a "communal BJP" into the Dravidian state then it would prove to be the worst own goal in the history of political football.

Aiyar said he cannot imagine the fathers of the Indian National Congress blessing such a "politics of expediency".

Speaking with PTI, Aiyar said the Congress' decision to jump ship immediately after an election fought with the DMK to plunge into a relationship with the very TVK that took "us on in the 23 assembly segments we lost and the five we won only days ago", was "dreadful".

"This is an unforgivable violation of Mahatma Gandhi's 1925 maxim, 'Swaraj should be a government based on morality'," Aiyar told PTI.

In an article published in the Hindu Tamil, the veteran Congress leader asked whether Chankya has prevailed or Mahatma Gandhi in the Congress switching partners in Tamil Nadu.

"The Congress won five seats, not because of itself but entirely on the strength of its decades-old junior partnership with the DMK. Indeed, my former parliamentary constituency of Mayiladuturai proved to be such a stronghold of the DMK-led alliance, that five out of its six assembly segments voted against Vijay's TVK in favour of a galaxy of the members of the alliance with two seats going to the DMK and one each to alliance partners DMDK, IUML and the Congress," Aiyar said in his Tamil piece.

Thus, the mandate ran clearly in favour of the DMK-led alliance and against the newcomer, he pointed out.

"It is in the context of my association with this maverick parliamentary constituency over the past 35 years that I write this piece with immense regret and sorrow," Aiyar said.

While noting that the state-wide mandate was against the older Dravidian parties and in favour of C Joseph Vijay's TVK and that Vijay is totally secular and belongs to the broader Dravidian consensus, Aiyar said yet, to summarily ditch an old and tried partner "smacks of low political opportunism".

"But opportunism is the essence of Chanakyan politics. It was not the politics of truth of the Congress of Gandhi. I cannot imagine the fathers of the Indian National Congress blessing such a politics of expediency," he said.

What is more, the ever-realistic Jawaharlal Nehru would also have doubted whether it makes political sense to abandon a tried and tested ally -- an ally who has stayed with us through decades of turbulence -- for a partner the Congress spurned till the 4th of May, he said.

Is this ethical or is it even politically wise, Aiyar asked.

"Struggling with these considerations, I must confess to deep unease with our switching horses after the race has been run. In switching, we have shown ourselves to be driven less by good behaviour, self-restraint and self-sacrifice, as taught by the Mahatma, and more in favour of immediate reward even if the future of such avaricious politics is uncertain," he said.

How can the Congress justify letting down a partner who, alone in the INDIA bloc, proclaimed 'brother' Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister, Aiyar argued.

"Moreover, why abandon a partner as he is drowning to reach the shore in company with the person responsible for the drowning. Do we sell our honour for 'a handful of silver' (an expression the Christian in Vijay will understand) and for 'a ribbon to wear on our breast - a ministry or two?" Aiyar said in his article.

Even on the most pragmatic grounds, is the Congress joining a ship on an even keel or as a rat joining a sinking ship, he asked.

"For me, the morals and politics of our present dilemma converge. Morality demands staying with the DMK, which has stood by us even in our depths. Politics demands we do not surrender to temptation but weigh the long-term consequences of joining an unknown entity of doubtful longevity," he said.

Aiyar asserted that the DMK has taken Tamil Nadu to the heights of challenging the Asian Tigers.

"Vijay has proved the deftness of his dance steps. If we wait a few years, assuming Vijay cobbles together a stable majority - we could, with all honour, estimate whom to partner in 2029 or 2031. But coming in the immediate wake of the TVK's determined effort to defeat us in 23 of the 28 segments the Congress contested shows up the party not only as amoral but also politically flatfooted," he said.

"And if this facilitates the backdoor entry of a communal BJP into the golden 'chen Tamizh' political ethos of Dravidian Tamil Nadu, it would prove the worst own goal in the history of political football. Who will ever trust us again?" Aiyar said in his article.

The Congress, a long-time ally of the DMK, on Wednesday announced its support to actor-politician Vijay's TVK to form a government in Tamil Nadu and severed ties with the Dravidian major.

The Congress asserted that it would be part of the new government to be led by TVK and share the responsibility of governance.

The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee's (TNCC) move to breakaway from the DMK's fold paved the way for a new political realignment in the state.

The DMK has dubbed the act of Congress to snap ties with it and join forces with TVK as "backstabbing."

The TVK won 108 seats in the 234-member Assembly in the April 23 polls. Though the Congress, which has five MLAs, has extended support to the TVK, the actor-politician-led party is still short of as many seats to touch 118, the majority mark.