Andhra CM, governor meet PM, Cong bigwigs for Telangana talks

As the Centre grapples with the Telangana crisis, Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan on Saturday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is understood to have briefed him about the situation in the agitation-hit region.

Narasimhan, who arrived in New Delhi on Friday evening, met Dr Singh at his official 7, Race Course Road residence during which the two are believed to have discussed the Telangana statehood demand issue at length. The meeting assumes significance as the general strike in Telangana region entered the 27th day on Saturday amid indications that the agitation would be intensified in the coming days.

The governor is also understood to have briefed the prime minister about the situation in the Telangana region, where life has come to a standstill for the past 26 days. However, there was no official word on what transpired at the meeting.

The meeting came as Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha arrived in New Delhi for consultations with the Central leadership.

Reddy also met  Mukherjee and Chidambaram and discussed the situation arising out of the Telangana statehood demand. The Andhra CM, who was called for consultations, gave his views on the issue that has gained a certain amount of urgency against the backdrop of the ongoing separate Telangana agitation almost paralysing Hyderabad.

Defence Minister A K Antony and Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also involved in handling the issue at the party level, were present during the discussions.

Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy, who hails from Telangana region, another minister Panabaka Lakshmi, also met the senior ministers.

Earlier, Narasimhan met Home Minister P Chidambaram and briefed him about the developments in the state. Dr Singh had earlier this week sought to defuse the Telangana crisis by meeting Telangana Rashtra Samithi chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and Congress leaders from the region during which he sought some more time to resolve the issue.

However, Rao had rejected Singh's appeal to call off the strike.