Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday met senior central ministers Pranab Mukherjee and P Chidambaram and discussed the situation arising out of the Telangana statehood demand.
Mr. Reddy, who was called for consultations, gave his views on the issue that has gained a certain amount of urgency against the backdrop of the ongoing separate Telangana agitation almost paralysing Hyderabad.
Defence Minister A K Antony and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also involved in handling the issue at the party level, were present during the discussions.
Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy, who hails from Telangana region, another minister Panabaka Lakshmi, also met the senior ministers.
After the meeting, Mr. Jaipal Reddy told reporters that he has interacted with his colleagues and gave them his assessment of the situation in Andhra Pradesh.
“I gave a frank assessment. I can’t share the details with the media,” he said.
Mr. Azad told reporters that whatever was happening in the past three days were part of the wider consultation process.
“Today the group (of ministers) met the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Narasimha Raju. We also interacted with four union ministers representing Andhra Pradesh in the union council of ministers. This is part of the wider consultation process,” he said.
Asked about reports that the State was heading for President’s rule, Mr. Azad shot back, “why should it head”.
