New Delhi, Jan. 28 (ANI): Amid sharp criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left Parties for deferring a decision on whether Andhra Pradesh should be split to create a separate state, Congress Party on Monday said the issue surrounding the Telangana statehood demand is a very sensitive one and a decision in this regard would be taken at an appropriate time.

Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi said the sentiments of the people of Andhra are attached to the Telangana statehood issue.

"The Telangana issue is a very sensitive issue. It is an emotional issue. Sentiments of the people of Andhra are attached to it. Ghulam Nabi Azad, who is the in-charge of Andhra Pradesh, has already given his statement in this regard. At an appropriate time, the decision will be taken and will be announced," he said.

The BJP and the Left Parties earlier in the day took the Congress-led UPA II Government to task for deferring its decision on the Telangana issue and asked it make its stand clear on the concerned matter.

Expressing disappointment with the Centre's move, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said ' it is complete betrayal of the Telangana cause and people'.

"The Congress-led UPA Government is not ready to give Telangana and they are regularly fooling people over the issue. There is complete policy paralysis. I assure of full NDA support in the Parliament on the issue," he added.

Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D. Raja on his part said the Congress Party is solely responsible for the crisis in Andhra Pradesh.

"Actually speaking, if at all one party has to be blamed for such a crisis in the state of Andhra Pradesh that is the Congress Party. It is Congress Party and the Congress-led UPA II Government have been terribly subjecting the state of Andhra Pradesh into a continuous political turmoil. What is the stand of Congress Party nobody knows," he said.

Raja further said the Congress Party must take a straightforward and honest position whether they are in favour of creating a separate Telangana state or not.

Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde made it clear on Sunday that a decision on the contentious Telangana statehood demand will be delayed further, as the government needed more time to arrive at a final decision on the issue.

The Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) has threatened to intensify its stir for a separate state a day after Centre deferred its own January 28 deadline, evoking sharp reactions from the pro-Telanaga groups.

Shinde had set a one-month deadline for a decision in December 2012 when he had invited two representatives from each party to know their views afresh on the Telangana issue in New Delhi.

The meeting was held to bring out the views of all parties on the demand to create a separate Telangana state.

The four-decade-old demand for Telangana, which is to be carved out of the economically less developed part of Andhra Pradesh, gathered momentum after the Congress party ruled government accepted the demand in principle. (ANI)