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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy's efforts to placate the Congress MLAs from Telangana to give up their agitation, as the Centre would make an announcement on the issue in the first week of March, failed to yield any positive result.
The Congress members, who have been raising the issue and disrupting the ongoing budget session of the state assembly along with Telangana Rashtra Samithi MLAs, told the chief minister that they would not attend the House but would join the ongoing agitation for a separate state outside the assembly.
Kiran held a meeting with the Telangana Congress MLAs in his assembly chambers on Monday morning after they disrupted the proceedings along with Telugu Desam Party members from the region.
The chief minister, who returned from New Delhi on Sunday night after talks with Congress high command leaders, told his party members that the Centre was about to make an announcement on the vexatious issue in March first week.
"A bill may be tabled in Parliament after the elections in five states. So please keep his agitation on hold," Kiran reportedly told the Telangana Congress MLAs.
However, S Rajaiah, who is leading the protest in the House, told PTI after the meeting that "we made it clear to the chief minister that we will not stay away from the ongoing agitation. We, however, told him that we shall abstain from the assembly till the Centre makes an announcement."
Meanwhile, the Telangana Congress MLAs distributed a pamphlet in the assembly urging their party colleagues from Andhra-Rayalaseema regions to co-operate for the smooth division of the state.
"Let us get separated as good brothers," they urged.