'T'- Cong MPs to meet Sonia

Terming the Telangana issue "emotive", Congress MP Madhu Goud Yaskhi on Wednesday said all Members of Parliament from the region would meet party president Sonia Gandhi here to discuss ground realities with her.

"Telangana is a very 'emotive' issue. Congress government had promised Telangana and for the last eight years, people have been waiting for it," Yakshi told reporters on the sidelines of a function on World Leprosy Day here.

He said all seven Congress MPs from Telangana would meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi to apprise her of the situation. "We believe in Sonia Gandhi. We have sought a meeting with her," he said.

Asserting that time was not an issue, he said the MPs were aware of the problems and challenges. "We are ready to cooperate," he said.

Yashki denied reports that the decision of the MPs to resign had been put off because of differences within the group, adding that the MPs would on  Thursday meet Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is also in-charge of Andhra Pradesh in the Congress party, and senior party leader Vayalar Ravi, to press their demand and take the matter forward.

Angry over the delay in the formation of a separate Telangana state, seven Congress MPs from the region on Monday decided to resign both from parliament and the party.

The Telangana issue flared up again Sunday with the central government deferring a decision on a separate state ahead of its own Jan 28 deadline, saying consultations were on and more time was needed.

Pro-Telangana groups were up in arms, calling the delay a betrayal.
The announcement was, however, hailed by proponents of a united Andhra Pradesh.

"The consultation process on Telangana is on. It may take little more time to reach a final decision," Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said in a brief statement in the national capital after it appeared certain that the Jan 28 deadline set by him to decide the matter would not be met.

At an all-party meeting Dec 28, Shinde had said that the government would decide the matter in a month's time, and that no more all-party meetings would be held on this issue.