NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD: With pressure mounting on the Centre on Telangana issue in the wake of en masse resignation of MPs and MLAs from the region, the Congress core group met on Wednesday in a bid to resolve what appears to be developing into a political and constitutional crisis.Even as the government ruled out imposition of President's Rule in Andhra Pradesh, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi held consultations with senior ministers Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, Ghulam Nabi Azad (who is in-charge of Andhra Pradesh affairs in Congress) and senior leader Ahmed Patel and discussed the issue that has brought the state back on boil.Sources said that constitutional experts were being consulted on how to go about resolving the separate Telangana statehood demand over which more than 100 MLAs and 15 MPs cutting across political lines have resigned.The Congress is in consultations with the agitated MLAs and MPs who have resigned from the assembly and Parliament and triggered a similar action by legislators of other parties that could plunge the state into a constitutional crisis if unresolved.Sources said the government was going into various pros and cons and was hoping that the consultation process would show the path to resolution.Home Minister Chidambaram made it clear the Centre was not thinking of imposing President's rule in the state, where the campaigners for a separate state are planning to escalate protests on top of the two-day bandh that concluded on Wednesday in 10 districts. Representatives of Congress MPs and MLAs had met Finance Minister Mukherjee last night and urged that the Centre and the party high command fix a "time frame" for the creation of the new state."Give us a time frame. Be it six months, three months or two months," said Congress MP from Telangana region K Keshav Rao, who has resigned his Rajya Sabha membership.However, Rao said the resignations were not a tool to arm twist anyone but only fulfil the urge for a separate state.On law and order, Chidambaram said the Centre has provided forces to the state but added he sincerely hoped that there will not be a breakdown of law and order."I sincerely hope and appeal to everyone, while we understand the provocation for an agitation, we sincerely hope that even those who agitate will not not lead to a break down of law and order," he said.Meanwhile, normal life was affected for the second day today in the 10 districts of Telangana region following a 48-hour shutdown call given by Telangana Political Joint Action Committee for a separate statehood. This will be followed by a rail roko on July 8 and 9.Tension prevailed in Osmania University in Hyderabad with pro-Telangana students clashing with police.The CPI-M blamed the Congress and the Centre for the "deepening political crisis" on Telangana and demanded an immediate decision on the issue.The politburo said in a statement in Delhi that the inaction of the government and the Congress leadership in resolving the issue was the main cause for the present impasse.
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