No decision on Telangana yet, says government

Even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi held another round of discussions on the Telangana issue on Thursday, party leaders from different regions of Andhra Pradesh hardened their respective positions — making it difficult for the Centre to make a stand. HT reports.

Even as Congress president Sonia Gandhi held another round of discussions on the Telangana issue on Thursday, party leaders from different regions of Andhra Pradesh hardened their respective positions — making it difficult for the Centre to make a stand.

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“No decision yet,” sources said after the meeting at 10, Janpath, which was attended by party general secretaries Ghulam Nabi Azad and Digvijaya Singh, Union ministers Sushilkumar Shinde and Vayalar Ravi, and Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel.

But a day after Azad indicated that the decision could be delayed, Congress leaders from the region stepped up pressure on the Centre to make an announcement by January 28, the deadline set by Shinde to resolve the issue.

"We won't be able to move in our constituencies if there is no announcement by January 28," Congress MP Ponnam Prabhakar told HT.

MPs from Telangana did not rule out the possibility of disrupting the coming budget session. Anti-Telangana groups also cried louder, saying it would spell doom for Andhra Pradesh.

IT minister Ponnala Lakshmaiah sounded hopeful of a positive decision by Monday.