JDS no longer secular: Cong

The Janata Dal Secular has no moral right to call itself 8216;8216;secular8217;8217; after its alliance with the BJP, the Congress said on Friday after the new coalition came to power in Karnataka.

8216;8216;By calling themselves secular, they are playing a cruel joke on the people who voted for a secular government in the state,8217;8217; Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said. He said the results of last elections were clearly in favour of a secular government and by allying with the BJP, the JDS had gone against the people8217;s wishes. 8216;8216;People had rejected the BJP, but the greed for power and opportunism of the JDS has undermined the spirit of the verdict,8217;8217; he said.

On airport modernisation, the Congress spokesperson said the government was in consonance with the NCMP. 8216;8216;We are not privatising the AAI, only two airports are being modernised with private funds. The party supports the government in this move,8217;8217; he said. Singhvi added that the NCMP commitment was not to privatise profit-making PSUs whereas off-loading government equity without losing control in these PSUs was acceptable.