Hyderabad, Jan 5 (Inditop.com) There were mixed reactions to the outcome of the all-party meeting held in New Delhi Tuesday on the Telangana issue.
Parties and leaders supporting the demand for statehood to the region saw it as a step forward in carving out Telangana state while those from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema were satisfied that the central government agreed for consultations before taking a decision.
After the meeting, union Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters that he would convey the views expressed in the meeting to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his senior cabinet colleagues and will then come out with a decision or a statement of the government.
Student groups in Telangana, however, were disappointed. Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Telangana students said it would continue the agitation till the centre initiates the process for formation of Telangana state with a fixed time-frame.
Like their divided views in the meeting, both the ruling Congress party and the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) were also divided along the regional lines in their reaction. Both parties had a representative each from Telangana and Andhra.
Uttam Kumar Reddy, Congress party legislator from Telangana who attended the meeting, termed the meeting a step towards formation of Telangana state. He said the government would take a decision after normalcy is restored.
K. Sambasiva Rao, Congress MP from Andhra, told reporters in New Delhi that Chidambaram assured them that injustice would not be done to any region.
Y. Ramakrishnudu and R. Prakash Reddy, TDP leaders from Andhra and Telangana respectively, were hopeful that the central government would respect the sentiments of the people of their regions.
Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao, who is spearheading the Telangana movement, said he would react only after the government takes a decision. The TRS leader will meet Chidambaram Wednesday.
BJP state president Bandaru Dattatreya said he urged the central government to table the bill for carving out Telangana state in the next parliament session. He felt there was no need for further consultations on the issue.
The Communist Party of India (CPI) also called for immediate steps for formation of Telangana state.
The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) opposed bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) neither supported nor opposed Telangana but called for wider consultations on the issue.
