Govt interested in taking 'quick decision' on Telangana issue: Shinde

The government is interested in taking a "quick decision" on demand for a separate Telangana and the issue is not yet closed, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said on Monday.

"It is not a closed chapter. We are discussing it. The issue is open. The issue is open because we have to do this way or that way," he said at a press conference here.

He was replying to a question on whether the issue was a closed chapter for the government as there was no visible forward movement on it.

"We are also interested to take a quick decision," Shinde said.

The Home Minister, however, refused the give any deadline on when the issue would be resolved.

"There is no limit on it," he said.

A decision on the Telangana statehood demand was deferred on January 27 with the Centre and Congress saying there was need for "further consultations" which will take a "little more time" even as pro-Telangana activists intensified their agitation.

On the eve of the one-month deadline set by him to arrive at a decision on the contentious issue, Shinde and Congress spoke on similar lines seeking more time to resolve the matter.

While Shinde said it may take some more time to reach a final decision, Congress general secretary in-charge of Andhra Pradesh Ghulam Nabi Azad made it clear that "further consultations" with leaders from Andhra Pradesh were required.

Shinde had on December 28, last year said the Centre would announce a decision on the contentious issue in a month.

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