Cong MPs press party to spell out stand at Telangana meet

Five MPs from the Telangana region, who have been openely defying the Congress party, said the High Command should shed its dilemma on the issue and take a stand.

Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has convened a meeting of registered political parties from the state to discuss the contentious Telangana statehood demand that has almost divided all major parties on regional lines.

This is the first meeting after the Centre handed over copies of the Justice B N Srikrishna Committee to the parties. YSR Congress will be the new entrant in the meeting.

The Telangana MPs met here this evening to forumlate their strategy and announced that the Congress should make its stand clear on the Telangana issue at the meeting tomorrow.

"We want the party High Command to clearly say whether it supports Telangana or not. A clear answer should be given at the meeting," Karimnagar MP Ponnam Prabhakar told reporters.

Congress, TDP and YSR Congress have not yet made their stand clear on the issue.

Tomorrow's meeting would discuss ways to go forward with the issue.

Sources said the Congress will decide on its representatives only late in the night.

Andhra Pradesh is the only major state where the Congress is in power on its own.