The Centre on Friday summoned Andhra Pradesh governor ESL Narasimhan for a discussion on the troubled Telangana region in the midst of speculation that President's rule might be imposed in the state.
The governor, who was in Tirupati, left for New Delhi without returning to Hyderabad.
Asked by media persons in Tirupati whether he had recommended President's rule, the governor said: "I don't want to comment on that at this stage. Nothing is in my hands. The Almighty will take care of everything."
Narasimhan is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P Chidambaram on Saturday.
The general strike demanding a separate state continued to paralyse Hyderabad and 10 districts comprising the Telangana region. The Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) on Friday decided to shift the period of the three-day rail blockade from October 9-11 to October 12-14.
The TJAC decision came after the state government and railways decided to run trains with police protection during the days of the blockade.
TJAC chairman M Kodandaram did not cite any reasons for the postponement, but sources in the TJAC said the dates were changed keeping in view the strong resentment from commuters, who would be returning to Hyderabad and other towns in Telangana after the Dussehra vacation.
{{/usCountry}}TJAC chairman M Kodandaram did not cite any reasons for the postponement, but sources in the TJAC said the dates were changed keeping in view the strong resentment from commuters, who would be returning to Hyderabad and other towns in Telangana after the Dussehra vacation.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, people belonging to the TRS are upbeat about some likely positive announcement coming from the Centre in the next few days.
Chief secretary Pankaj Dwivedi reviewed the situation arising out of the strikes in Telangana with top officials. He urged officials to start talks with transport employees and tell them to get back to work. The state-owned road transport corporation has so far suffered a loss of R1,200 crore in 20 days. The government is also trying to wean away a section of the striking Singareni coal miners.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders including finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, Ahmed Patel, Chidambaram and health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad met on Friday to take stock of the situation.