Andhra CM meets governor before leaving for Delhi

A day before leaving for New Delhi to attend the Congress coordination committee meeting, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy called on state Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan here.

The chief minister's meeting with the governor at Raj Bhavan Thursday evening lasted an hour. It assumed significance in view of the centre intensifying its efforts to carve out a separate Telangana state, and speculation of a change in leadership in the state.

The chief minister, who is opposed to the state's bifurcation, will be leaving for the national capital Friday morning on summons from the party leadership.

He would attend the state Congress coordination committee meeting, which will be chaired by party general secretary Digvijaya Singh, who is in charge of the party affairs in the state.

State Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana and Union Tourism Minister K. Chiranjeevi will also attend the meeting.

The meeting comes amid speculation of change of leadership in the state in view of the open defiance by the chief minister.

The central leadership is reportedly unhappy with Kiran Reddy for openly criticising the decision of the party and the UPA government to create a separate Telangana.

The chief minister recently sent letter to President Pranab Mukherjee and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, finding fault with the manner in which the decision to bifurcate the state was taken.

This would be the first meeting of the state coordination panel after it was reconstituted by the leadership. Instead of holding the meeting in Hyderabad, the leadership has summoned the chief minister and other members to Delhi.

As the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Telangana intensified its efforts to work out modalities for the bifurcation of the state, the coordination panel is also likely to finalise the dates for the assembly session to discuss the draft bill for the formation of Telangana.