Congress has adopted BJP’s shortcuts in Tamil Nadu, says T.R. Baalu

Reacting strongly to the unilateral snapping of ties by the Congress, which aligned with the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, DMK treasurer T. R. Baalu on Wednesday alleged the Indian National Congress (INC) had adopted “shortcut routes” in Tamil Nadu similar to those followed by the Bharatiya Janata Party in several States.

“Congress can support anyone; it is their right. But political ethics demand that they remain faithful to the people who voted for them,” Mr. Baalu said in a statement.

“Failure is not new to us. Nor is betrayal. But neither is permanent. Time will answer,” he added.

Mr. Baalu said the Congress’s statement outlining its political stand had exposed its “true character,” which, he claimed, had remained dormant at times. “Whenever the Congress faced a crisis, the DMK, as a faithful friend, stood by it. The price we paid was heavy, but we faced it with a smile,” he said.

Recalling the cordial ties between the DMK leadership and Congress leaders such as Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and Rahul Gandhi, Mr. Baalu noted that Mr. Gandhi had once reiterated his commitment, saying M. K. Stalin was the only leader he would address as a “brother.”

“But we are not surprised that the relationship has come to an end,” he said.

Mr. Baalu further alleged the Congress had “pawned” in a “despicable manner” its five MLAs who were part of the Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA) and had won the recent Assembly elections due to the hard work of alliance cadres. “The Congress seeks to justify this as a grand strategy and give it an ideological colour. It is a betrayal of the people who voted in the hope of securing a government led by the DMK,” he said.

He added the memory of Mr. Stalin projecting Mr. Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the 2019 elections—even when the Congress itself was hesitant—would remain evergreen. “In two elections, the DMK projected Mr. Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate and helped send the maximum number of members to the Lok Sabha,” he said.