Andhra Pradesh chief minister may quit Tuesday

With the bill for formation of separate Telangana state set to come up for debate in Parliament Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy is preparing to resign.

The chief minister will submit his resignation once the debate begins in Lok Sabha on Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2013, said sources close to the chief minister.

Lok Sabha is likely to debate and pass the bill Tuesday.

Kiran Reddy, who is strongly opposed to state's bifurcation, Monday night spoke to Chief Secretary P. K. Mohanty and Director General of Police B. Prasada Rao, in what is believed to be his last meeting with the two top officials before submitting his resignation to the governor.

The chief minister also reportedly issued orders, transferring some officials close to him in his office to different departments.

Kiran Reddy's aides were Tuesday busy shifting his personal belongings from his office at the secretariat and also from his official residence.

At a meeting with the ministers and legislators loyal to him Sunday, Kiran Reddy had said that he would quit immediately after the Telangana bill was taken up for debate in parliament.

E. Pratap Reddy, one of the state ministers from Seemandhra, said the chief minister would also float a new political party.

The central government had last week tabled the bill in Lok Sabha amid unprecedented ruckus. A MP from Seemandhra used pepper spray and there was also a scuffle between lawmakers from Telangana and Seemandhra.

The incidents led to suspension of 16 MPs by the speaker for the rest of the session.