A high-level meeting of the Congress and the Government on Friday evening deliberated on the Telangana issue amid indications that a decision on the mechanism would be taken by January 28, a deadline set by proponents of the separate state.
The meeting of the Congress Core Group chaired by party chief Sonia Gandhi and attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh discussed in detail the law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh.
The discussion took place in the backdrop of Telangana Political Joint Action Committee, spearheading the battle for a separate state, giving the Centre time till January 28 to come out with a time frame on the statehood issue failing which all lawmakers of the region will press for acceptance of their resignations.
This was the second meeting of the Core Group after Home Minister P Chidambaram held consultations early this month with eight recognised political parties of Andhra Pradesh on the creation of a separate state.
Besides Chidambaram, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A K Antony and Political Secretary to Congress President Ahmed Patel attended the meeting.
The party and the government are said to be weighing various pros and cons on the mechanism and the implications it would have on the dialogue process.
Sources said apart from the law and order in Telangana, some general political issues were also taken up in the Core Group meeting. The meeting took place close on the heels of the government announcing a series of steps to check price rise of some essential commodities. PTI
