Kiran Kumar Reddy meets Sonia over Telangana

Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy on Monday held consultations with the party's central leadership including Congress President Sonia Gandhi amid demand for an early decision on Telangana issue.

Kiran Reddy had a 30-minuted long meeting with Gandhi and her political secretary Ahmed Patel at her 10 Janpath residence here during which he is learnt to have briefed the party leadership over the situation in the state over the issue of separate statehood. Earlier, Reddy had an hour-long separate meeting with AICC general secretary in-charge for Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad.

The Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister also met President Pranab Mukherjee. The meetings come a day after Telangana Joint Action Committee (JAC) announced plans to block highways and organise a 'Chalo Assembly' during this month and early March as part of intensifying the separate statehood agitation.

Taking exception to the Centre's move to hold further consultations on the contentious Telangana issue, the JAC also decided to undertake a campaign to mount pressure on the MLAs in Telangana region from February 16 to 21.

Azad had said the central leadership would discuss the Telangana issue with the Chief Minister, the PCC president and senior leaders from the three regions of the state as part of a consultation process. State Congress President B Satyanarayana is also expected to go to Delhi for consultations undertaken by the Congress high-command. Earlier a group of seven party MPs from the region sent their resignation letter to Gandhi through a courier on January 30