Antony to head committee to pacify leaders from Seemandhra

New Delhi, Aug 6: As protests continues over the Telangana decision, Congress is making attempts to pacify the leaders from the Seemandhra region by setting up a high-level committee headed by A K Antony to talk to them.

Sources said that Antony and AICC general secretary in-charge for Andhra Pradesh Digvijay Singh have been tasked to pacify the agitating members of two regions.

Party spokesperson Meem Afzal said, "We are talking to them (MPs). Antony ji has talked to them. Our effort is to pacify all those including our MPs, who have reservations against the decision."

He was responding to a question about continued protests by party MLAs and MPs fron the non-Telangana regions to the decision on the separate statehood.

Asked whether action can be initiated if party leaders continue to protest against Congress decision on Telangana, Afzal said, "There is nothing about taking action now. "We are now in an atmosphere of reconciliation and we hope that such a need will not arise."

His reaction came after MPs from the region met Antony as well Congress President Sonia Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel.

Meanwhile, the Union Ministers hailing from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions had a meeting in Parliament House to discuss the strategy ahead. They had plans to meet Antony, who heads a committee to work out the modalities related to the division of the state.

The talk in the party is that central leadership is keen that the ministers do not press with their resignation. The ministers are also planning to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the three resolutions passed in Hyderabad on Saturday.

One of the resolutions had demanded the reconsideration of Telangana decision and asking Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to quit.

On Saturday, defiant state Congress leaders from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions upped their ante by adopting three resolutions one of which demanded reconsideration of Telangana decision and asking CM N Kiran Kumar Reddy to quit.

PTI