Congress to hold talks with MIM

Hyderabad, Nov 12 (IANS) After Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) Monday withdrew support to the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh, the ruling party has decided to hold talks with its ally to persuade it to reconsider its decision.

MIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, however, ruled out the possibility of his party reconsidering its decision. “Once we take a decision, we don’t go back on it,” he said.

Facing a possible crisis due to the MIM’s move, Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy held an emergency meeting of his cabinet in the evening to discuss the political situation.

As many as 24 ministers including state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana attended the meeting. The chief minister briefed them about the stand taken by the government on Bhagyalakshmi temple abutting Charminar.

The MIM withdrew support while accusing the chief minister of allowing construction of a canopy over the temple structure in violation of court orders to maintain status quo.

Satyanarayana told reporters after the meeting that it was decided to hold talks with the MIM.

He said the MIM had only expressed its views and hoped that the issues would be sorted out. He said the government had acted as per the law and had done nothing to hurt sentiments of any community.

Hectic political activity was also seen in the camps of other major parties. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) chief K. Chandrasekhara Rao took stock of the situation with some members of party politburo and other top leaders in Hyderabad.

Leaders of main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) also discussed the latest political developments.

Party MP Nama Nageswara Rao said the party would take a decision after discussing the idea of moving a no-confidence motion against the government. He said the government might fall any time and claimed that the TDP was ready to face elections.

IANS 2012-11-12 20:46:09