Andhra Pradesh chief minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday said the Centre would soon resolve the Telangana statehood issue in an "amicable" manner that would "satisfy the aspirations of the people" of the state as the strike in support of the demand entered the 27th day.
Grappling with the pro-Telangana agitation, Reddy rushed to the capital along with his deputy Damodar Rajanarasimha and held consultations with senior ministers Pranab Mukherjee, A.K. Antony, P. Chidambaram and Ghulam Nabi Azad.
Reddy briefed the leaders about the situation in the state in the wake of the agitation and gave his opinion on the separate statehood demand.
"I have given my opinion. I said the aspirations of the people of Andhra Pradesh should be satisfied. Soon there would be an amicable solution that would be beneficial to the people of the state," he told reporters here.
He dismissed suggestions that the Congress-ruled state was heading for President's rule.
To a question, Reddy said the central leaders would take a decision on the issue soon.
"The issue of Telangana is there for a long time. Now, it is (highlighted) because of the persistent agitation. The central are talking to leaders. I think they will try to solve it as soon as possible," he said.
To a volley of questions, he said the decision would be taken only by the Centre and that he is not in a "position to give a decision".
Asked whether President's rule would be imposed in the state, he said "why should President's rule be imposed? When should President's rule be imposed? What are the parameters?," he said.
Earlier, the leaders also met Union ministers from the state — S. Jaipal Reddy, who hails from Telangana region, Panabaka Lakshmi, D. Purandeswari and M. M Pallam Raju.
After the meeting, Jaipal Reddy told reporters that he has interacted with his colleagues and gave them his assessment of the situation in Andhra Pradesh.
"I gave a frank assessment. I can't share the details with the media," he said.
Azad told reporters that whatever was happening in the past three days were part of the wider consultation process.
"Today, the group (of ministers) met the chief minister and deputy chief minister Damodar Narasimha Raju. We also interacted with four union ministers representing Andhra Pradesh in the union council of ministers. This is part of the wider consultation process," he said.
Asked about reports that the state was heading for President's rule, Azad shot back, "why should it head"?