Telangana Congress leaders to meet Azad again

HYDERABAD: Congress leaders from Telangana seeking a separate state Monday left for New Delhi for talks with party general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad.The 12-member team, constituted by the steering committee, will meet Azad at 7 p.m.Committee chairmen K. Keshava Rao and K. Jana Reddy, MPs Madhu Goud Yaskhi, G. Sukhender Reddy, Manda Jaggannatham, Rajaiah, K. Rajagopal Reddy and Vivek and state minister Geeta Reddy are among the leaders who will participate in the talks.The talks assume significance in view of the Andhra Pradesh assembly speaker rejecting resignations of 101 legislators from Telangana.While legislators of Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) have decided to submit their resignations again, the Congress leaders said they would take a decision after talks with Azad.Azad, who is in charge of party affairs in Andhra Pradesh, has invited the leaders to make their proposal to resolve the issue. He had preliminary talks with them last Friday.Congress MPs and legislators have already made it clear that they would not accept any alternative to a separate Telangana state, and demanded the leadership to initiate the process for the same.While Tealangana leaders are looking for an assurance during the crucial meet, Azad on his part has already stated that a decision on Telangana would be taken only after talks with the leaders of all regions of Andhra Pradesh. He hinted that the consultation process may take two months.With Speaker N. Manohar Saturday rejecting resignations of all legislators, the Congress leaders are under pressure from pro-Telangana groups to prove their sincerity towards the cause by again submitting their resignations.The steering committee is likely to take a decision on the issue after talks with Azad.At the two meetings held here Sunday to chalk out future course of action, differences cropped up among Congress leaders. While one section felt they should immediately submit their resignations again, other said they should wait for two months as the leadership is holding talks on the issue.Some leaders also suggested that they should submit their resignations to Azad instead of the assembly speaker to give a clear message that while they are committed to a separate state, they don't want to defy the leadership.