Telangana On Hold: Centre

The home minister, Chidambaram, issued the much-awaited statement on Telangana. He said that on December 7th, there appeared to be a consensus of all political parties of Andhra Pradesh in favour of Telangana. On December 9th, the minutes of the meeting that was held were read out, which indicated that the Centre gave a go-ahead for the formation of a separate Telangana state.

However, he said, after that day, the situation in Andhra Pradesh has altered, and there appears to be divergent views on the issue of separate statehood. In view of this, there is now a need for wide-ranging consultations with political parties and groups across AP on Telangana, he said.

Chidambaram has said that the state government should now be allowed to concentrate on governance. He requested all students, groups and politicians to end their agitation, and appealed for people of the state to restore peace, harmony and brotherhood.