Telangana’s Reddy meets ministers

Congress ministers, who had sent their resignations to party chief Sonia Gandhi, reached Delhi to mount pressure on the leadership to announce a “time frame’’ for forming a new state while in Andhra Pradesh, TDP leaders from the region agreed to join the JAC that is spearheading the statehood movement.

The agitation for a separate Telangana intensified on Sunday.

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Congress ministers, who had sent their resignations to party chief Sonia Gandhi, reached Delhi to mount pressure on the leadership to announce a “time frame’’ for forming a new state while in Andhra Pradesh, TDP leaders from the region agreed to join the Joint Action Committee (JAC) that is spearheading the statehood movement.

Congress ministers from Andhra called on Union Minister S.Jaipal Reddy to urge him to coordinate with the High Command and play an active role in ensuring a separate state. “He has agreed,’’ claimed a minister after the three-hour meeting. Like them, Reddy is also from Telangana.

These ministers also hope to meet senior leaders Pranab Mukherjee and Ahmed Patel.

“We are here to ask the Centre and the Congress to come out with a time-bound programme for creating Telangana,’’ said Geeta Reddy, Information and Tourism minister.

A senior state leader wanted the Centre to pass the statehood bill in Parliament and send it to the assembly for its opinion. “This will be in keeping with Article 3 of the Constitution,’’ he said.

In a day of hectic developments, the TDP agreed to join the JAC, the TRS welcomed rebel MP Vijaya Shanti back to the fold and the Congress, in a bid to dominate the panel, said it will meet on December 29 to discuss “the size of the JAC.’’