Consultations on Telangana to end on Monday: Pranab Mukherjee

Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee tonight said the consultation process within the Congress on the Telangana statehood issue would end on Monday, but refused to set any deadline for resolution of the matter.

Mukherjee, the main troubleshooter of the UPA government, along with his cabinet colleagues AK Antony, P Chidambaram and Ghulam Nabi Azad met Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy and Union Ministers from the state and elicited their views on the issue.

"The consultations (within the Congress) will end on Monday," Mukherjee told reporters after several rounds of discussions with party leaders from Andhra Pradesh.

Asked when the issue would be resolved or a decision on it would be taken, he said he cannot give any "time frame".