Will 'force' Congress to accept MLA resignations on Telangana: T.G. Venkatesh

As anti-Telangana protests were held in the national capital, Andhra Pradesh's Irrigation Minister T G Venkatesh said that the legislators would put pressure on the ruling Congress Party to accept their resignations if Andhra Pradesh was divided.

"All the MLAs ...to Congress, almost all of them will force this...to accept our resignation. We don't have the choice. We strongly feel the bill will not be amended before the election," Venkatesh said.

Earlier, on August 1, legislators from Andhra Pradesh had submitted their resignations as a mark of protest over the Congress' decision to bifurcate the state.

In the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar suspended 12 members of the Lok Sabha for obstructing the proceedings on the Telangana statehood issue.

The Congress Working Committee's (CWC) decision to grant separate statehood to Telangana, on July 30, has invited severe criticism towards the ruling party, as the timing of the announcement comes crucially close to the 2014 general elections.

After the decision to carve out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh was made public, the demand for creation of other states has grown louder throughout the country. There have been demands and protests to divide Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and West Bengal.