Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde on Saturday ruled out the possibility of holding an all-party meeting to discuss the Telangana issue.
"I don't think there will be an all party meeting now. If needed, we can, but I don't think it is required," Shinde said while addressing a press conference here. He said that he his predecessor (P Chidambaram) has already spoken to many people about the issue. He said an all-party meeting was already held and the issue was discussed. Informal discussions were also held with different leaders.
When reminded about Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu's letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh demanding all-party meeting over the Telangana issue, he said that he was yet to receive the letter. "If the suggestion has come, then we will consider and verify it on what can be done. If the solution comes, then we will welcome it," he said.
Shinde also confirmed that Telangana was among the many issues discussed with Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence at 10 Janpath. However, he said that Telangana issue was not a prominent issue. "We discussed so many things and it was one of them," he said.
The Home Minister also clarified that the Telangana issue did not figure at the Congress brainstorming session at Surajkund. (INN)