Eight Congress MPs from Seemandhra quit

Eight Congress MPs and two Andhra Pradesh ministers, all from Rayalaseema and Andhra regions, Friday submitted their resignations in protest against the decision to carve out a separate Telangana state.

Seven Lok Sabha who quit include L. Rajagopal, U. Arun Kumar, Harsha Kumar, Ananta Venkatarami Reddy, Sai Pratap, S.P.Y. Reddy and M. Srinivasulu Reddy. Rajya Sabha member K. V. P. Ramachandra Rao also submitted his resignation.

After a meeting in the central hall of Parliament, the MPs submitted their resignation letters to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha secretary generals.

Harsha Kumar told reporters that they decided to stand by the people of Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra) who are protesting the division.

In Hyderabad, two state ministers P. Viswaroop and Mahidhar Reddy submitted their resignations, taking the number of ministers who have resigned to five. Three ministers had submitted their letter late Thursday night at a meeting with the chief minister.

Ten more legislators of both ruling Congress party and the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) submitted their resignations, taking the number to over 60.

The legislators who quit include D. Satyanarayana, who also resigned from the post of government whip.