Telangana issue: All-party meeting on 28 December

The government has convened an all-party meeting 28 Dec as part of its efforts to find a solution to the demand for carving out a separate state of Telangana from Andhra Pradesh, home ministry officials said Wednesday. The officials said all political parties from Andhra Pradesh were expected to be called for the meeting. Madhu Gaud Yaskhi, Congress MP from Nizamabad in Andhra Pradesh, said that the parties, including the Telugu Desam Party and the YSR Congress Party, will have to make their stand clear on the issue of statehood of Telangana at the meeting. ‘The government is for consensus. The meeting on Dec 28 will bring clarity about positions of parties,’ Yaskhi said. The government had convened all-party meetings earlier also to find a solution to vexatious issue of carving out a separate state. There have been differences within the Congress over the issue with its MPs from Telangana pushing for statehood while many of its leaders from the other two parts of Andhra Pradesh opposed to the move.