The Congress Core Group's two-hour-long discussion on Telangana on Friday evening at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence remained inconclusive, as it was felt that there was need for some more consultations at the national level.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leader K. Chandrashekhara Rao, who flew in to the capital on Friday night, is scheduled to meet Dr. Singh on Saturday. The government, informed sources said, wanted to take all stakeholders on board before taking a final decision on an issue that has brought a third of Andhra Pradesh to a halt.
The meeting was held a few hours after Union Health Minister and general secretary-in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad met Congress president Sonia Gandhi to hand over a report on Telangana, based on his discussions with people from three regions of the State — coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana.
Indeed, Mr. Azad, who is not a member of the Congress Core Group, was invited to attend its deliberations. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and Congress president's political secretary Ahmed Patel were present. For Ms. Gandhi, it was the first Core Group meeting she has attended since her return from the U.S., where she underwent surgery in early August.
The sources told The Hindu that Mr. Azad's report urged the government to take a swift decision on Telangana creation, unless it can draw up a strategy to quell the agitation which, in his view, was very serious. There was need for an urgent decision, the report stressed.
Friday's discussions come in the wake of extensive consultations Mr. Mukherjee had on Friday night with Congress representatives from Telangana, who reiterated to him that they cannot return home without a commitment on a new state.
Mr. Mukherjee, it may be recalled, had sent a detailed questionnaire to all political parties some months back, seeking their views on the issue.
