PM, Sonia discuss Telangana and MPs resignation

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi today held discussions on the contentious Telangana demand and on resignation of party MPs from the region ahead of Parliament's monsoon session.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Friday held discussions on the contentious Telangana demand and on resignation of party MPs from the region ahead of Parliament's monsoon session.

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Sources said Congress general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad has been asked to hold fresh talks with party MPs, who have tendered their resignation to the speaker resenting the delay in the formation of a separate state.

The hour-long meeting was attended by members of the Congress Core Group including finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, home minister P Chidambaram and Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel.

Meanwhile, Azad met a delegation of lawmakers from Telangana who made it clear that they will not withdraw their resignations unless the Centre comes out with a positive decision on the statehood demand.

Congress MP M Jaganath told PTI after the meeting that Azad asked them to give their viewpoints about the statehood demand in writing so that he can discuss them with their counterparts from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions of AP.

Meanwhile, some lawmakers took objection to Azad's remarks last night that his main concern is, apart from the resignation of so many Congress MPs from Andhra Pradesh is that the state should not suffer any more because of this issue.