Andhra chief minister warns Congress over Telangana decision

In an open act of defiance, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy indirectly warned his own Congress party's leaders that the organisation would have to face the consequences of bifurcating the state.

The chief minister said whenever the government or party take wrong decisions, people send them home.

"There are many instances both in the states and at the centre, when governments and parties were sent home by people for not taking correct decisions," he said while addressing 'Telugu language day' celebrations here Thursday evening.

"In a democracy, government and party can't take decisions. Only people take decision. It will be wrong to think that the government or party can take decisions," he said.

The chief minister's remarks came amid the continuing public protests in Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions over the Congress Working Committee's decision to carve out a separate Telangana state.

This is the second time that Kiran Reddy, who hails from Rayalaseema, has questioned the July 30 decision. He had earlier asked the party not to take any further step without addressing key issues arising out of bifurcation, including the status of Hyderabad.

The chief minister's remarks came a day after Congress leaders from Telangana urged the leaders to either rein in the chief minister or impose the president's rule. They even accused him of financing the agitation in Rayalaseema and Andhra and making police look the other way to scuttle the process of bifurcation.