Cong continues to grapple with Telangana crisis, protests on

The Congress continues to grapple with the contentious issue of carving out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh with consensus eluding the party on splitting the state. Aurangzeb Naqshbandi reports. Inconclusive

The Congress continues to grapple with the contentious issue of carving out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh with consensus eluding the party on splitting the state.



After her return from abroad following surgery, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Friday chaired the party's first core group meeting that had Telangana on its agenda.



The issue had incidentally dominated the last core committee meeting that Gandhi chaired on July 22 before leaving for abroad.

She is likely to make her first public appearance on October 2 at Rajghat where she will pay tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 142nd birth anniversary.

The party's Andhra Pradesh in-charge and union health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad briefed the group about the outcome of his talks with Congress legislators, MPs and other senior leaders from all the three regions - Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana -- during the past few months to find an acceptable solution to the imbroglio.

The broad contours of the Telangana report he had earlier submitted to Gandhi at her residence were also discussed at the meeting.

Congress sources said the report contains the details of Azad's consultations with all stake holders and the "pros and cons of different scenarios" that could possibly emerge due to the formation of a separate state of Telangana. The views of those opposing the partition on different grounds also find a mention in the report.

Amid mounting pressure for an early decision, the two-hour-long core group meeting ended without any conclusion. "Discussions are on and it will take some time before arriving at a decision. The party leadership will study the report and accordingly formulate a view on the issue," a senior leader said.

Earlier on Friday, home minister P Chidambaram said four political parties, including the Congress, were yet to take a decision on the issue. "TDP and MIM are waiting to see what the Congress party's decision will be. The YSR Congress too has not indicated its mind yet," he said.