Ministers join Telangana protest

The political crisis in Andhra Pradesh worsened on Saturday when 20 ministers of the state cabinet from non-Telangana regions decided to resign to protest the formation of the separate state of Telangana.

The ministers, who belong to the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, held a meeting today. After the meeting, Municipal Administration & Urban Development Minister Anam Ramnarayana Reddy said that they have decided to resign, keeping in view the wishes of the people of their constituencies.

The decision was conveyed to Chief Minister K Rosaiah by Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao and his colleagues in the state cabinet, Gade Venkat Reddy and Shilpa Mohan Reddy.

Though the three ministers were tight-lipped about what transpired between them and the chief minister, it is learnt that Rosaiah asked them to reconsider their decision.

The 34-member cabinet has split into Telangana and non-Telangana camps. The two camps are learnt to have had heated exchanges at an emergency meeting of the cabinet held by Rosaiah two days back.

Meanwhile, the number of legislators who have resigned over the proposal to split Andhra Pradesh into two has climbed to 135. Bandhs and protest were held for the second consecutive day, which paralysed life in the non-Telangana areas.

Rosaiah, on his part, said that he had not received “any written or oral communication” from the central leadership to table the resolution in the state Assembly for statehood to Telangana. This, observers said, indicates that the resolution may not be moved in the current session.

The political turmoil in the state was not just confined to the ruling Congress party. Telugu Desam Party (TDP), which sits in the opposition benches in the Assembly, too faced the repercussions. The Telangana members of TDP today threatened to quit the party if its leader, N Chandrababu Naidu, did not support the resolution for a separate Telangana state.

The joint action committee of legislators, which is intensifying the ongoing agitation for a united Andhra Pradesh, has also threatened to disrupt the 20-Twenty cricket match between India and Sri Lanka scheduled to be held at Visakhapatnam on December 18. Consequently, the Board for Control of Cricket in India has put the sale of tickets on hold.

On the other hand, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) said it is confident that the United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre will stick to its decision on Telangana. K T Rama Rao, TRS legislator and son of the party president K Chandrasekhar Rao, said that the party was not worried about the developments in the state after the Centre's decision to split Andhra Pradesh.