20 AP ministers plans to quit en masse

The political backlash in Andhra Pradesh over Telangana decision took a new turn today with as many as 20 ministers hailing from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions planning to resign from their posts en masse.

The ministers, under immense pressure from their constituents to quit following the Centre's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, met in a star hotel here this afternoon and decided to put in their papers.

"We have decided to resign from our posts. We have asked three of our colleagues -- Dharmana Prasada Rao, Gade Venkata Reddy and C Silpa Mohan Reddy -- to communicate our decision to Chief Minister K Rosaiah," state Municipal Administration Minister Aanam Ramanarayana Reddy told newspersons after the meeting.

Immediately, Dharmana, Gade and Silpa Mohan rushed to the Secretariat to meet the Chief Minister.

After their meeting, however, the ministers maintained that they had not taken up the resignation issue with Rosaiah yet. "We will meet him later in the evening and discuss the issue," Dharmana and Gade told reporters.

The Chief Minister, meanwhile, refused to speak to the media and left for home.