"All-party meeting on Telangana won't help"

Telangana Rashtra Samithi legislator Koppula Eashwar (right) affixing his signature on the resignation papers in presence of senior party leaders before submitting it to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Secretary in Hyderabad on Tuesday. Photo: Mohammed Yousuf

Even as senior Congress leaders, negotiating with their party legislators from Telangana, have hinted at the Centre convening an all-party meeting to break the deadlock, the legislators are of the opinion that such an exercise would serve no purpose unless it gave a firm assurance on the formation of a separate State at the earliest.

Andhra Pradesh Ministers K. Jana Reddy, Ponnala Lakshmaiah and Basavaraj Saraiah, who flew into Delhi on Monday evening, continued their parleys with senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ahmed Patel and S. Jaipal Reddy. till late in the evening. Some Congress MPs and MLCs also joined them in talks.

The MLAs and MPs were “open to discussions,” and said the Centre should start deliberations and that “those who have resigned have not closed their doors,” Mr. Azad told journalists.