Hectic activity in Delhi over Telangana

The political scene Friday shifted to Delhi from Andhra Pradesh with the chief minister, his deputy and the state Congress chief rushing to the national capital on the summons by the central leadership ahead of a final decision on statehood to Telangana region.

Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha and state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana reached Delhi for what is believed to be the final round of consultations by the leadership before the much-awaited meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to take a final call on the Telangana issue.

The Congress Core Group is likely to meet later Friday to decide the date for the CWC meeting. The chief minister Friday morning called on Congress general secretary in-charge of party affairs in the state Digvijaya Singh.

Before this meeting, 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.

Hectic activity in Delhi began amid the continuing resignations of Seemandhra leaders to mount pressure on the centre. Two Congress legislators Friday submitted their resignations to the assembly speaker. As many as 16 legislators of YSR Congress party and one of Congress had Thursday announced their resignations.

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

The chief minister and the state Congress chief, in their separate reports, are understood to have opposed any move to divide the state while the deputy chief minister, who hails from Telangana, backed the demand for separate statehood.