Krishna call to block ‘communal’ agenda

Karnataka Chief Minister S.M. Krishna today accused the BJP of trying to impose its ‘‘communal agenda’’ in the country and called upon ‘‘secular forces’’ to fight its ‘‘communal designs’’.

At a meeting on final day of his yatra, he said the BJP was trying to divide the nation in the name of religion. Krishna said he was a Hindu and was never shy of saying so. ‘‘I am a more religious person than Vajpayee or Advani. But it is a private affair and not a public affair. My religious practices are restricted to home,” he said.

He accused BJP chief Venkaiah Naidu, a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, of failing to defend the state’s interests. The NDA, he charged, was meting out ‘‘step-motherly’’ treatment to his government in contrast to AP where it was trying to please TDP which was supporting it .— (PTI)