Eight Seemandhra legislators quit over Telangana

In an attempt to stall a possible announcement by the Congress for formation of a separate Telangana state, eight members of Andhra Pradesh legislative assembly Thursday sent their resignations to assembly speaker.

The legislators from Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra regions) announced their resignations to mount pressure on the Congress to drop any move to divide the state.

With Congress Working Committee (CWC) likely to meet Sunday to take a final decision on the demand for a separate Telangana state, seven legislators belonging to YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) and one from the ruling Congress said they were quitting to keep the state united.

Seven legislators of YSRCP said they faxed their resignations to assembly Speaker N. Manohar. They are Gurunath Reddy (Annatapur), B. Srinivasa Reddy (Ongole), Shoba Nagi Reddy (Allagadda), M. Chandrasekhara Reddy (Udaigiri), N. Prasanna Kumar Reddy (Kovuru), Amarnath Reddy (Rajampeta) and Srikant Reddy (Raichoti).

Earlier, Congress legislator G. Veeashiva Reddy announced his resignation both from the party and the assembly. He told reporters in Kadapa that he was sending resignations to the speaker and state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana.

Reddy, who represents Kamalapuram constituency in YSR Kadapa district, showed resignation letters to media persons. He said all legislators from Seemandhra, irrespective of their party affiliations, should resign to put pressure on the central government to keep the state united.

The resignations came a day after ministers from Seemandhra met in Hyderabad and said they were ready to resign for keeping the state united.

Earlier this month, six legislators announced their resignations over the Telangana issue. Four members of assembly and two of the legislative council, all from the Rayalaseema region, tendered their resignations to protest reported plans by the central government to carve out a Telangana state out of Andhra Pradesh.

The legislators who announced their resignations included three from the Congress, two from the YSRCP and one from the Telugu Desam Party.