The Congress has asked its warring MPs from Andhra Pradesh to close ranks and launch efforts to restore peace in the state.
The party is clearly divided in the state on the Telangana issue. The pro and anti-Telangana Congress MPs have openly come out against each other and for the past few days had separate meetings with the higher-ups in the government and the party.
On Thursday, party MPs from coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalseema region met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P. Chidambaram to put forth their viewpoint on the issue.
The MPs, accompanied by 15 legislators from AP, urged the Centre to ask the state assembly pass a resolution for the creation of Telangana.
The pro-Telangana MPs also met Chidambaram — who has cancelled his visit to Meghalaya on December 19 due to the ongoing crisis in AP — and thanked him for last week’s announcement. Both reportedly told the warring MPs that they should work for creating an atmosphere of peace.
Later, Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Mukherjee, Defence Minister A.K. Antony and her political secretary Ahmed Patel at 10, Janpath to discuss ways to resolve the crisis amicably. She also met Lok Satta Party president Jayaprakash Narayan who claimed to have a solution to the present turmoil.