Hyderabad:
Despite meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his assurances of good news on the cards, ministers from the Telangana region have ruled out withdrawing their resignations until the Congress high command comes out with a "categorical time frame" for the formation of a separate state.
The ministers, who have sent a common resignation letter to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, said this did not amount to blackmail but was instead a reflection of the demands of people in the region. There could be a statement from the Congress soon.
On Sunday, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had promised "some good news" on Telangana and asked his party ministers from that region in Andhra Pradesh to withdraw their resignations.
State Information and Tourism Minister Geeta Reddy, who led a delegation of 13 ministers who have quit in protest against the Centre's dilly-dallying on Telangana, met with Mukherjee on Sunday.
Over the weekend, the Telangana Joint Action Committee had given an ultimatum to the Centre. K Chandrasekhar Rao, or KCR, along with pro-Telangana politicians and student groups, has formed the Telangana Joint Action Committee.
KCR has warned that he will start an indefinite bandh in Telangana on Tuesday if the Centre does not commit to a schedule for the formation of the new state it sanctioned earlier this month.