TRS chief called to Delhi for next step on Telangana: HM

 A day after announcing decision to form separate Telangana state, Government today told Parliament that TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao has been invited here for talks to discuss the next step in the process.
   
Home minister P Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha that the Government had to take an urgent decision in view of the situation in Andhra Pradesh, which witnessed widespread violent protests over the demand for Telangana state.
   
"I am happy to inform the House that by and large normalcy has been restored in Hyderabad," Chidambaram said.

He said he had spoken this morning to Rao, who was on fast-unto-death for 11 days over the Telangana demand, and invited him to Delhi to discuss the next step.

Rao, who ended his fast late last night after the Centre's announcement, thanked all sections of the House for resolving the issue.

Earlier, senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu took exception to Chidambaram announcing the Telangana decision outside Parliament though his party welcomed carving out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.

Responding to it, Chidambaram said he could not have waited to make the announcement as the government could "brook no delay" against the backdrop of the situation in the state.   

In any case, he said, last night's announcement was a "re-statement" of the earlier decision of the government.
   
In the Lok Sabha, Leader of House Pranab Mukherjee said all processes regarding formation of a separate Telangana state will be "fully followed".

"You are fully aware of the process of formation of separate states. All processes (in that regard) will be fully followed," the finance minister said in response to queries from Leader of Opposition L K Advani.
   
Advani, former home minister during whose tenure three states were formed, asked how the Government would go about carving Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.

Mukherjee said the government was "appreciative" of the TRS leader's decision to end his fast-unto-death.
   
"As it is a decision taken very late in the night and we are yet to get a response from the state, we cannot make a statement (in the House) at this stage," he said, adding the House would be informed as soon as the response came.
   
Earlier, Advani congratulated Speaker Meira Kumar and the House for intervening in the Telangana issue and said "the government acted on the basis of the voice of the House."

"We wanted Telangana state to be created and had expressed concern over the health of a member of the House," said Advani, whose party raised the issue in both Houses of Parliament yesterday.

He, however, objected to the government announcing the decision outside Parliament.
   
The home minister should make a statement in the House as to "what processes he has thought of (in the creation of Telangana) and how much time it will take", Advani said.

In Rajya Sabha, as the House met for the day, two Congress members Keshav Rao and V Hanumantha Rao from Telangana and Shantaram Naik from Goa hailed prime minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi for the decision on Telangana.