Shinde refuses to give any deadline on Telangana

Consensus seems to be eluding the Congress over the issue of Telangana with Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Tuesday refusing to set any deadline for deciding the statehood issue.

His statement came close on the heels of claims made by Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress General Secretary looking after party's affairs in Andhra Pradesh, that the issue will be resolved within this month.

"This entire matter is under process...We had given some dates earlier also. But consensus was not arrived. We need to ask (for consensus)," Shinde told reporters here.

He said the government is discussing the matter with all stakeholders. "We are discussing. It seems difficult to get consensus, some people say it should be done while others say it should not be. We need to see its repercussion also," the home minister said.

Many Congress leaders have already quit the party apparently aggrieved over the Centre's continuous delay in deciding the issue. Congress leader and former Pradesh Congress Committee chief K Keshava Rao and two MPs G Vivekananda and Manda Jagannatham had quit the party recently.

"Two-three people have gone. After that nobody has gone," Shinde said when asked about Congress leaders leaving the party.