New Delhi, January 28 2010: The much-talked about Committee to examine the demand for separate Telangana will be announced next week, Home Minister P Chidamabaram said today.

"We are almost at the end of concluding that exercise.

If all goes well, we should have a committee by the end of this week.

We will announce the committee by next week," he told reporters declining to give out the names.

The Home Minister said the Government would have more or less finalised the names and will do by the the end of this week.

"Perhaps by the next week, the committee will be announced," he said.

Chidambaram in the meeting with political parties from Andhra Pradesh on January 5 had said that its agenda was to 'deliberate on the mechanism and lay down a road map for consultations' on the Telangana issue.

The meeting followed Chidambaram's statement on December 23, 2009 when the government put on back burner the formation of the separate state for which it had on December 9, 2009 promised to initiate the process.

On law and order situation in Andhra Pradesh, the Home Minister said much of the agitation has cooled down while there are some protests here and there.

"My greatest regret is that a couple of students reportedly committed suicide.

That, I think, should have been completely avoided.

Why should children commit suicide.

Parents, teachers have responsibility to stop this.

But keeping that apart, by and large, things are peaceful there.

There is no major law and order violation.

We are sticking to our words," he said.

JAC reaction to Chidambaram's statement : The Joint Action Committee of political parties on Telangana today reacted sharply to Home Minister P Chidambaram's statement that the Committee to go into the issue would be announced next week.

"Nothing concrete has been said.

Nothing short of a clear time frame will satisfy us.

People of Talangana want a clear time frame for the formation Telangana State," Convener of the all-party Joint Action Committee (JAC) Prof Kodandaram told PTI.

He said the future course of action of the JAC will be decided in a meeting later in the day.

Ops to continue till Naxals agree for talks: In a strong message to Maoist groups, the Government today said anti-naxal operations would stop only if Left-wing extremists abjure violence and decide to come to the negotiation table.

"...If they (naxal) wish to come for talks after abjuring violence, they are welcome.

If there is no response to the offer, the anti-naxal strategy, being formulated, will continue," Union Home Minister P Chidambaram told reporters here after his meeting with Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren.

Clearing the air on reports that Jharkhand had halted the anti-naxal offensive, the Home Minister said, "The Chief Minister came with his two deputies, Home Secretary and DGP.

"He (Soren) told me that there is no change in policy of Jharkhand government and that he is on board with other chief ministers of naxal-affected states on the strategy being worked out," Chidambaram said.

The Home Minister defended Soren's decision to invite Maoists for talks saying, "He made the offer but got no response so far...I have also made an offer." After his meeting with the Home Minister, Soren ruled out any difference with the Centre on the issue of controlling Maoist violence and expressed his resolve in checking the menace.

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