New Delhi: Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Iyer Actor-politician on Friday questioned the decision of the oldest party in Tamil Nadu to extend support to Vijay and his Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam, calling the move “appalling”, morally questionable and politically reckless. Speaking to PTI, Aiyar accused Congress of abandoning its old ally. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam Immediately after contesting the elections together. He argued that the Congress owed its five assembly victories entirely to the DMK-led alliance and not to its organizational strength.“This is an unpardonable violation of Mahatma Gandhi’s 1925 dictum ‘Swaraj should be a government based on morality’,” Iyer said. He questioned whether Congress had chosen “Chanakya” over Gandhi in its politics.The Congress on Wednesday broke ties with the DMK and announced its support to Vijay’s TVK to help form the government in Tamil Nadu. The move is one of the biggest political turnarounds in the state in recent years after the TVK surprised both the DMK and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam by winning 108 seats in the 234-member assembly.With the support of five Congress MLAs, the TVK alliance now has 112 seats, still short of the majority mark of 118. The CPI and CPI(M), which have two seats each, are discussing whether to support Vijay, a move that could take the alliance closer to power.However, Aiyar warned that the Congress was sacrificing both morality and long-term political wisdom for immediate gains. “Is this moral or does it even make sense politically,” he asked, adding that the party had shown itself to be “less motivated by the good behaviour, self-restraint and self-sacrifice taught by the Mahatma, and more in favor of immediate rewards”.He also questioned why the Congress would abandon an ally that had consistently stood by it despite political setbacks. Referring to the DMK’s support for Rahul Gandhi, Aiyar wrote in a sharply worded article in Hindu Tammy, “How can the Congress justify demeaning a partner, which alone in the Indian faction declared ‘brother’ Rahul Gandhi as Prime Minister?”Aiyar argued that the Congress’ decision may inadvertently help the BJP gain a foothold in Tamil Nadu politics. He wrote, “And if it facilitates the backdoor entry of the communal BJP into the golden ‘chain tameez’ political ethos of Dravidian Tamil Nadu, it will prove to be the worst goal in the history of political football.”The Congress’ decision has already drawn sharp reaction from the DMK, which has described the move as a stab in the back. Meanwhile, protests broke out in Chennai and Madurai, with Congress workers demanding that Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar invite Vijay, as the leader of the largest formation, to form the government.Aiyar’s intervention has once again put the veteran leader at odds with the Congress leadership. His controversial comments have repeatedly embarrassed the party over the years. In recent months, he publicly distanced himself from Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, declaring, “I am a Gandhian, I am a Nehruvian, I am a Rajivian, but I am not a Rahulian.”