Andhra ministers from Telangana meet Union Minister Reddy

Andhra Pradesh ministers from Telangana region on Sunday met Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy here and told him that the Centre should clarify doubts on the latest statement and take a "quick decision" on setting a time-frame for formation of a separate state.

Andhra Pradesh ministers from Telangana region on Sunday met Union Urban Development Minister S Jaipal Reddy here and told him that the Centre should clarify doubts on the latest statement and take a "quick decision" on setting a time-frame for formation of a separate state.

HT Image

The ministers, who sent their resignation letters to party chief Sonia Gandhi on the Telangana issue, held a luncheon meeting with Reddy at his residence here.

Emerging out of the over three-hour-long meeting, Higher Education Minister Sridhar Babu, who is among those resigned, said they sought Reddy's support in the struggle for the separate statehood issue.

"We apprised him of the situation in the Telangana region. Since he also hails from the same region, he gave us a patient hearing. We asked him for his support and told him that his interference is needed in this issue," he told reporters.

"We told him that the (December 23) statement on Telangana has created confusion among the people. We also told him that the doubts should be clarified and a quick decision on setting a time-frame for the formation of the state should be made," he said.

When asked whether they asked Reddy also to resign and convey his protest, Babu said: "The purpose of our visit was not to ask him to resign. Since he is a senior leader hailing from the region, we thought he would convey our message properly to the High Command."