Meet of Cong MPs from coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema convened

Hyderabad, Jan 18 (PTI) The Congress high command hasconvened a meeting of party MPs from coastal Andhra andRayalaseema regions in Andhra Pradesh on January 20 to discussthe Telangana issue.

State Congress President D Srinivas and other partyleaders today communicated the message from the high commandto the MPs that they should be available in Delhi on Thursdayafternoon, APCC general secretary R Ananda Bhaskar said.

The Congress Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members fromcoastal Andhra and Rayalaseema are likely to meetsenior leaders like Pranab Mukherjee in Delhi.

The meeting with the MPs is part of the consultationsthe top leadership is holding with the MPs from Andhra Pradeshon the Telangana issue in the wake of the submission of reportby the Srikrishna Committee.

The meeting with the non-Telangana MPs assumessignificance amid reports that the Centre would convene thenext meeting of eight recognised political parties from APbefore January 26.

The top Congress leadership is likely to firm up itsstance on the contentious Telangana issue after theconsultation process. The Centre''s meeting with the politicalparties would be crucial to decide the next course of actionon the Telangana issue. (More) PTI SJR DK

Mukherjee and others held meetings twice earlier with Congress MPs from Telangana who stuck to their demand thatsteps be taken for formation of separate Telangana at theearliest.

In its report to the Centre on January six, theSrikrishna Committee has recommended keeping Andhra Pradeshunited with constitutional and statutory measures forempowerment of the Telangana region as "the best way forward"while creating a separate state can be the "second best"option to tackle the statehood demand.

The two are options among the six given by thefive-member committee headed by former Supreme Court Judge B NSrikrishna which submitted its report to the Centre last weekafter holding wide-ranging consultations across Andhra Pradeshsince February last year.

The Committee itself found that the other four options-- maintaining status quo, bifurcating the state intoSeemandhra and Telangana with Hyderabad as Union Territory andthe states having their own capitals, bifurcation into Rayala-Telangana and coastal Andhra regions with Hyderabad as part ofRayala-Telangana and bifurcation into Seemandhra and Telanganawith enlarged Hyderabad metropolis as a separate UnionTerritory -- made by it are not practicable.