New Delhi:
As the Centre grapples with the Telangana crisis, Andhra Pradesh Governor ESL Narasimhan today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is understood to have briefed him about the situation in the agitation-hit region. Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha are also in Delhi for consultations with the Central leadership.
Narasimhan, who arrived here last evening, met Dr Singh at his official 7, Race Course Road residence during which the two are believed to have discussed the Telangana statehood demand issue at length.
The meeting assumes significance as the general strike in Telangana region entered the 27th day today amid indications that the agitation would be intensified in the coming days.
The Governor is also understood to have briefed the Prime Minister about the situation in the Telangana region, where life has come to a standstill for almost a month now. However, there was no official word on what transpired at the meeting.
Earlier, Narasimhan met Home Minister P Chidambaram and briefed him about the developments in the state.
Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy, who arrived in Delhi early this morning, also met senior Congress leaders like Pranab Mukherjee, AK Antony, P Chidambaram and Ghulam Nabi Azad. He and Pranab Mukherjee might meet the PM together later in the day.
After the meeting with the CM, Azad, who is also in charge of Andhra Pradesh for the Congress, said, "These meetings were part of wider consultations. We have met various leaders, our legislators from the state. We need to hold further talks on the issue. Where does the question of President's rule arise?" he said.
Sources have told NDTV that all significant leaders from the region have been summoned by Pranab to Delhi. He is meeting all leaders individually.
Sources also say that Congress MPs from Telangana have threatened to sit on a hunger-strike if there is no favourable announcement from Delhi in the next couple of days. They have also said that if the Governor gives adverse report on Telangana, they will write to the President asking for his recall.
Earlier this week, the PM had sought to defuse the Telangana crisis by meeting TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao and Congress leaders from the region during which he sought some more time to resolve the issue. However, Rao had rejected Singh's appeal to call off the strike. (With PTI Inputs)