2 ministers rejoin Andhra cabinet

The differences in the Andhra Pradesh cabinet over the Telangana issue were resolved on Thursday, with the two remaining ministers from the region withdrawing their resignations and rejoining the cabinet.

The differences in the Andhra Pradesh cabinet over the Telangana issue were resolved on Thursday, with the two remaining ministers from the region withdrawing their resignations and rejoining the cabinet.

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Eleven ministers from the region had withdrawn their resignations earlier.

Andhra Minister for IT Komatireddy Venkat Reddy and Higher Education Minister D. Sridhar Babu announced on Thursday that they had taken back their resignations and would work with the Chief Minister K. Rosaiah.

The two ministers said they were withdrawing their resignations in response Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram’s appeal to restore peace in the state prior to any resolution of the problem.

“We need to restore peace and tranquility in the state now. We did not want to precipitate the issue and are hopeful that the Telangana issue would be resolved amicably,” they said.

A 30-member Congress delegation, including MLAs and MPs from Telangana, met the Home Minister in New Delhi to seek a “time bound’’ action plan for statehood.

The discussions revealed fissures in Telugu film star Chiranjeevi’s Praja Rajyam party, which favours a united state. Two
Praja Rajyam legislators from Telangana urged Chidambaram to take immediate steps to create a separate state.

The Congress Core Group, which includes Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi, is to meet on Friday to take stock of the situation, including the talks held so far, the issue of constituting a mechanism and its implications.

Congress sources said the Centre was of the view that the Telangana issue could not be brushed aside and that the “tipping point’’ could come in the next few months.