PM to chalk out Telangana road map

Anticipating violent reaction to the Delhi stalemate, the Hyderabad police imposed prohibitory orders on the twin cities for one week beginning Tuesday.

The failure to reach a consensus on the contentious issue, which has sharply divided Andhra Pradesh, was the result of prolonged discussions Chidambaram held with the all-party leaders in the first half of the day.

“It was clear at the meeting that political parties were divided on the issue. We will take the views of the prime minister and senior members of the Centre and then formulate the further course of action,” Chidambaram said after the conclusion of the deliberations with eight parties in his North Block office.

“The government will act on the sense of the Telangana meeting within a reasonable timeframe,” Chidambaram said. He is of the view that the parties want a timeframe for a resolution of the Telangana imbroglio. 

 “Nobody in the meeting was opposed to the idea of further consultations,” Chidambaram said. While pointing to the only course available to the parties, he said the “agenda is to deliberate on the mechanism and lay down a roadmap for the consultations.”

A joint statement signed by all parties appealed for peace and harmony in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) leader K Chandrasekhar Rao, Y Ramakrishnadu and R Prakash (both TDP), Praja Rajyam chief Chiranjeevi, state BJP unit chief Bandaru Dattareya and his colleague Hari Babu, B V Raghavalu and J Rangareddy (CPM), K Narayanan and Malesh (CPI) and Asaduddin Owaisi and Akbaruddin Owaisi of MIM attended the meeting.

The TRS, espousing the  demand for a separate Telangana,  sought  to put the ball in the Centre’s court. “We are waiting for the final response,” Chandrashekhar Rao said in an apparent reference to the Centre’s earlier announcement that “the process for the creation of Telangana will be initiated.”

Chiranjeevi said he had made clear his party’s stand that it stood for a united Andhra Pradesh. “It is only the beginning of the process,” he said without elaborating. Asked if he was satisfied with the meeting, Chiranjeevi said “to some extent.” Bandaru Dattatreya felt the UPA and the Congress party should make their stand clear on Telangana.

During the meeting, Chidambaram described as “misconception”  the notion that the Centre “acted in haste,” that the political parties were “not consulted” and that he as home minister had “acted as an individual.” Transport services across the state were disrupted while hundreds of train passengers suffered due to delays and hold up of trains as part of the rasta and rail roko in AP on Tuesday.