Ministers ask president to resolve Telangana issue

Six ministers, including state Home Minister Sabita Indra Reddy and Major Industries Minister Geeta Reddy, met Mukherjee at Rashtrapathi Nilayam, the president's official retreat Bolarum in Secunderabad here.

The ministers urged the president to ensure that immediate steps are taken for the formation of a Telangana state. They said people of the region had long been demanding a separate statehood and it was time the central government fulfilled their demand.

Mukherjee, who headed a committee formed by the UPA government to look into the Telangana issue in 2008, told the ministers that he was aware of the issue. The ministers told reporters that the president hoped the problem would be solved soon.

The ministers called on the president on the last day of his eight-day southern sojourn. During his visit, Mukherjee stressed the need for women's safety in the wake of the tragic gang-rape and subsequent death of a 23-year-old woman in Delhi.

At an all-party meet in Delhi Dec 28, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde had said the central government would find a solution to Telangana issue in a month.