Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Monday said that the Telangana statehood issue would not be discussed in the Lok Sabha until the Andhra Pradesh assembly passes a resolution initiating the process for creation of a separate state.
Mukherjee said this while meeting a delegation of Congress MPs from the state's Andhra and Rayalaseema regions in the Parliament House.
"He (Mukherjee) assured us that the resolution has to come from the state assembly first. Till then, there cannot be a discussion of the issue in the Lok Sabha," senior Congress leader and Andhra Pradesh MP K.S. Rao told reporters.
Rao, who led the delegation, said they also want a "clarification" from the central government on the statement of union Home Minister P. Chidambaram giving the go-ahead to initiate the process for creation of a separate Telangana state.
"We want a clarification as early as possible to prevent division among people of different regions in the state," Rao said.
Mukherjee also assured the delegation that he would discuss the matter with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.