Consultations over, await decision on Telangana: Digvijaya

The process of consultations over the Telangana issue are now over, and people should wait for a decision by the Congress and the government, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh said Friday.

"The process of consultations is over. Now await a decision by the party and the government," Singh told reporters in Delhi after the Congress core group, including party chief Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reviewed the issue of separate statehood to Telangana.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is expected to take a final decision.

Digvijaya Singh, who is in-charge of the party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, held separate meetings with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana.

Digvijaya Singh's predecessor Ghulam Nabi Azad was also present at the meetings, ahead of the core group meeting.

The two central leaders held detailed discussions with the three state leaders who rushed to the national capital on summons from the party central leadership.

The three state leaders, earlier this month, submitted their reports to the Congress core group. The leadership is believed to have summoned them again to get certain issues clarified.

Kiran Kumar Reddy and Botsa Satyanarayana, in separate reports, are understood to have opposed any move to divide the state, while Damodar Rajanarasimha, who is from Telangana, backed the statehood demand.

Earlier in the day, Congress leaders from Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra regions) called on the chief minister and urged him to convey to the leadership their strong opposition to the state's division, party sources said.

Seemandhra leaders, who made a beeline to the national capital in a last-ditch attempt to stall a possible decision to carve out Telangana state, held a meeting to chalk out their strategy. The meeting was attended by state and central ministers and Congress MPs from Seemandhra.

S. Sailajanth, the state minister heading the group opposed to the state's division, told reporters after the meeting that they were confident the state would remain united. He termed as "speculation" the talk of a likely decision to carve out Telangana state.

"We have decided to exhaust all options to ensure the state remains united," he said.

Hectic activity in Delhi has begun, amid the continuing resignations of Seemandhra leaders to mount pressure on the central government.

Two Congress legislators Friday submitted their resignations to the assembly speaker. As many as 16 legislators of the YSR Congress party and one of Congress Thursday announced their resignation.