The AICC Core Committee today covened at the residence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the first time after
two days of frantic meetings with Chief Minister NKiran Kumar Reddy. It has been reported that the issue of statehood for Telangana was their prime concern during the meeting.
Apart from the Telangana issue, the Suryavelli rape case of Rajya Sabha deputy chairman P J Kurien, the Cauvery river dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and the execution of Afzal Guru are also reported as having been on the agenda at the one-and-a-half-hour-long meeting.
After AP's CM, it is now the turn of Governor E S L Narasimhan and PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana to undergo a round of meetings with AICC's top leaders on the contentious issue of AP's bifurcation. The Governor, who reached Delhi earlier today, has been summoned their to attend a Governor's conference convened by President Pranab Mukherjee.
It has also been reported that the Chief Minister is due to fly to Delhi once again next week.
Meanwhile, the demand for Gorkhaland, a seperate state for the Gorkha ethnic group of West Bengal, has thrown yet another conundrum at the AICC.
The budget session, which is to start on the 21st of this month, is yet another factor weighing on the minds at the Centre. Considering that this is "election year", it is imperative that the annual budget be passed smoothly.