Ministers from Seemandhra meet LK Advani

Some Union ministers from the Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh met BJP leader L K Advani on Monday, seeking the BJP's support for a package for the region following the decision to create a separate Telangana state.

Union Ministers KS Rao, MM Pallam Raju, and Purandeshwari were present in the meeting, but Union Minister of state for Finance JD Seelam did not attend the deliberations, sources said. The Congress ministers were accompanied by BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu. During the 25-minute meeting, the ministers urged Advani to support a handsome package for Seemandhra to ensure its all-round development in the coming years.

After the meeting, Advani is learnt to have briefed his party colleagues, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley, on the demands raised by the Union Ministers.

While the BJP supports the creation of Telangana state, it is opposed to the passage of the bill amid din in the Lok Sabha.