Centre to set up new panel on T in 48 hours

deccan chronicle New Delhi, January 8th, 2010 : The Centre is expected to announce a committee to undertake an exercise to resolve the Telangana issue in the next 48 hours. Before that, the Congress core group is expected to meet on Friday.
The Centre is moving forward after a series of meetings here with the leaders of eight recognised parties in Andhra Pradesh, jointly and individually, over the last three days.
A delegation comprising Andhra Pradesh officials, including some top police officers, are expected to reach New Delhi on Friday and hold meetings with the Union home minister, Mr P. Chidambaram.
They will discuss the ground situation in the state at a time when a section in the state is toying with the idea of whether Hyderabad can be made a Union Territory.
Officials in Hyderabad denied that they had been summoned for such a meeting. Authoritative sources in the ruling UPA on Thursday indicated a formal announcement of a committee would be made “most probably on Saturday”.
The government decided to move forward after the Andhra political leaders agreed to resolve the issue through discussion instead of violent agitation. Significantly, the Telugu Desam (TD) and the Praja Rajya (PR), which have been fighting for an united Andhra Pradesh, are divided on the Telangana issue. This division came to the fore at an eight-party meeting called by Mr Chidambaram on January 5.
While the Congress has already ruled out the option of imposition of President’s Rule in the state, the Centre is treading cautiously after realising that the agitation on smaller states can spread to Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
The Congress core group comprises the party chief, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, the finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, the defence minister, Mr A.K. Antony, Mr Chidambaram, and the Congress president’s political secretary, Mr Ahmed Patel.