Let's first restore peace in Andhra, PM tells Cong MPs

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday assured Congress MPs from Andhra and Rayalseema regions that efforts were on to work out an amicable solution to defuse the situation in Andhra Pradesh in the wake of protests over announcement of a separate Telangana state.

At the same time, Dr Singh told the MPs that priority was to restore normalcy in the state, troubled by protests by unified Andhra Pradesh supporters, and sought cooperation of the MPs to bring calm there.

The prime minister's remarks came a day after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs, which saw some UPA allies expressing reservations over the announcement of creation of Telangana and called for a consensus on the issue.

The 20-odd MPs, including Union Ministers A Sai Pratap and D Purandeshwari, wanted Dr Singh to give detailed guidelines on how to cool tempers in the state following the charged-up atmosphere.