Andhra CM meets PM, Chidambaram over Telangana issue

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Tuesday held discussions with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on the issue of Telangana.

Reddy, who was called to the capital by the Congress high command on Monday, is understood to have briefed Dr Singh about the prevailing law and order situation in the state.

The Telangana issue, a decision on which was deferred last week by the Centre, is believed to have come up for discussion at length during the meeting between Reddy and Dr Singh.

Reddy also met Shinde separately and discussed the issue, which has divided the state along regional lines.

The chief minister had on Monday held consultations with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, her political secretary Ahmed Patel and party general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad on the Telangana issue.

The meetings come in the wake of Congress' announcement that it was not opposed to the creation of a separate Telangana state. Last week, party spokesman P C Chacko had said that discussions were going on at various levels.