The Congress on Thursday said that it was not indulging in a policy of 'appeasement' to woo smaller parties ahead of the trust vote in the Lok Sabha on July 22.
Replying to questions on the decision of the Union Cabinet to rename the Lucknow airport as Chaudhary Charan Singh airport, Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari said he was a former prime minister and the decision to rename the airport was a good one.
"There is nothing much to read into it," Tiwari told reporters. Asked about the timing of the decision to rename the airport before the trust vote, he said the decision was pending for a while.
On the demand of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief Shibu Soren for the Coal Ministry in lieu of support to the United Progressive Alliance government during the trust vote, Tiwari said it was the discretion of the Prime Minister.
"He is an MP, eligible and legally qualified to become a minister," he said, adding, "it is entirely up to the Prime Minister to take a decision."
In reply to another question on the 'compromises' the party was making to garner support for the trust vote, Tiwari said, "We have to understand that we are living in a federal polity". He rubbished reports that illegal demands were being made and accepted. "What is Constitutionally correct is also morally correct," the spokesman said.
Reacting to the Left statement that Congress is seeking the support of 'jailbirds' and tainted MPs for the vote, Tiwari alleged that in Bengal and Kerala, there were hardly any Communist Party of India - Marxist leaders without criminal charges against them.