LATEST HYDERABAD NEWS. Jan 5 Telangana Meeting in Delhi. How the fire was doused? Behind the scene story. Hyderabad

Many may have noticed on TV how on a foggy and ice-cold Tuesday leaders from eight parties from Andhra Pradesh, wrapped in wool, fumed and flexed their muscles before going into Home Minister P Chidambaram�s chambers for extracting their pound of flesh from the Telangana mess. But two hours later, the fire had vanished and there was an icy cold response and, surprisingly, everyone spoke almost on the same lines.

What brought about the change? Sources told India Syndicate that as soon as the parties settled for talks, pro and anti Telangana voices were raised. The Home Minister asked the parties to shut up, though not in so many words, and see what he had to present.

Then came a 45-minute long presentation which put forth hard and irrefutable evidence to show that extreme Left elements - the Naxalites and Maoists - had deeply infiltrated the Telangana movement. Presenting pictures and facts painstakingly collected and collated by AP Governor Narasimhan, the Home Minister showed ample proof the it is not the students who are spearheading the Telangana movement, but the Naxalites.

Sources said that the Governor had sent a voluminous report on why it would be dangerous to fragment Andhra Pradesh now. Most inputs were collected by the Intelligence Department in the State and the Centre and the special wing formed to tackle naxalite menace. A separate Telangana is what the Naxalites want because it will give them ample opportunity to regroup when a new state is formed as the law and order machinery would be weak.

Chidambaram asked the meeting to be mindful of the Naxal threat, and their interest in a separate state. "I wish to caution all political parties that there are forces waiting in the wings who ridicule parliamentary democracy and who would be happy if we collectively fail to find answers to the issues that concern us and we should not give any room for these forces to gain strength or credence," he said.

He urged all parties to show "accommodation and goodwill". "There must be a halt to agitations and bandhs. Law and order must be maintained. Children must go to schools and colleges. People must be allowed to carry on their normal day-to-day activities. Government must be able to focus on development and the welfare of the people," Chidambaram said.

The first to lose his voice was Telangana Rashtra Samiti chief K Chandrasekhara Rao. Sources said that he kept mum and raised a feeble protest. But the Home Minister sent across a message saying "you started all this, now it is your headache and duty to cap the violence first before demanding Telangana."

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Chidambaram told all the parties that the first and foremost priority is to establish law and order. Only then can the process of the formation of Telangana start.

The State, he said, cannot be held to ransom through bandhs and violence that put the common man in untold hardships. Life has to come back to normalcy before anything can be discussed. And the responsibility for establishing peace is on all the shoulders, the told the leaders of the eight parties that attended the meeting.

But the Home Minister said once law and order is established, the Centre will consider setting up a panel to hold consultations with all stakeholders.

The panel could be a committee of experts headed by a retired judge of the Supreme Court, or a ministerial committee, or a mix of both.

Later, the parties and their Andhra units largely reiterated their stated positions at Tuesday's meeting. TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao and BJP leader Bandaru Dattatreya asked the Centre to take immediate steps to create Telengana. PRP chief Chiranjeevi said his party was for a united Andhra.

Representatives from the Congress and TDP were divided along Telangana and non-Telangana lines. The CPI(M) stressed the need for a peaceful resolution.

Except for the BJP , which sought the tabling of a statehood Bill in the next session of Parliament, all parties agreed on setting up a mechanism for further consultations. The MIM's Asaduddin Owaisi wanted President's Rule in the state to control law and order.

"It appears to me that no one is opposed to further consultations with other groups and stakeholders. Should such consultations become necessary, they were keen that these should be completed in a reasonable time," Chidambaram said.

Later, in a joint statement, the parties said they had expressed their views at the meeting and these had been noted by the Centre. "Meanwhile, it is our earnest appeal that peace, harmony and law and order should be maintained in the state."