With less than a week left for the deadline set by the Telangana Joint Action Committee, Congress leaders from the region on Friday stepped up pressure on the party high command and the Centre for initiating the process of formation of a separate state.

State congress chief D Srinivas, who hails from Telangana, met party president Sonia Gandhi and apprised her of the situation in the region which has recently witnessed violence and several bandhs on the issue.

Party MPs from the region also came to the state capital ahead of the January 28 deadline set by the JAC for the formation of Telangana. AICC has so far remained non-committal on the issue of formation of a mechanism to deal with the contentious issue by that date.

A delegation of 10 Telangana MPs met Defence Minister A K Antony and demanded that the Centre expedites the process of formation of Telangana state.

"We met Antony and briefed him about the situation in the state, particularly the Telangana region. We told him that the Centre should expedite the process of formation of Telangana," Andhra Congress MPs Forum Convener Ponnam Prabhakar said.

He also hoped that there will be some good news from the Centre on the issue as Home Minister P Chidambaram had on January 5 said that the government will formulate a response based on the all-party meeting on the issue.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the Congress Core Group was held this evening attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, party chief Sonia Gandhi and Home Minister P Chidambaram. 

'BJP is committed to formation of Telangana'

BJP is committed to support the demand for separate Telangana state, the party's former president Rajnath Singh said in Hyderabad.

"BJP is with the people of Telangana. We are supporting Telangana demand both inside and outside the Parliament," he told reporters.

"I want to assure that no force on earth can stop the formation of separate Telangana," he said.

Regretting the alleged suicides by students and others in support of Telangana demand, Singh appealed to the youth not to end their lives.

"Youth have become emotional for the cause of Telangana. They are committing suicides. I appeal to them not to commit suicides," he said.

He criticised the way Telangana issue was dealt with by the ruling Congress.

BJP had promised to form separate Telangana state in 100 days if the NDA came to power in the general elections, he said.

Singh was talking to reporters after calling on senior party leader M Venkaiah Naidu, who underwent an angioplasty at a corporate hospital in the city.

Telangana: 'Cong part of JAC'

Congress will remain part of the all-party Joint Action Committee (JAC), formed to spearhead the agitation for a separate Telangana state, senior party MLA R Damodar Reddy said here on Friday, a Hyderabad report said.

"We have kept aside our 'zhendas' (flags) and joined hands for one agenda, that is formation of Telangana. We will remain part of the JAC," he said.

Damodar Reddy's assertion came in the wake of reports that the Congress would chart out its own course of action on the Telangana issue.

Congress decided to form a Political Action Committee on Telangana and also stayed away from the JAC meeting on Thursday which led to the impression that the party was moving away from the JAC.

The ruling party also shot off a letter to the JAC convener on Thursday on ways to improve the functioning of the Committee.

Damodar Reddy admitted on Friday that his party faced some problems in the JAC but expressed confidence that they would be sorted out amicably.

JAC convener C Kodandaram also said the Committee remained united and that the suggestions of Congress have been accepted.

The suggestions of Congress are technical in nature and they include setting up an office for JAC among others, he said.