Deputy CM demands Kiran Reddy's resignation

Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajanarasimha Monday demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy for trying to move a resolution in the assembly to stall the formation of Telangana state.

The deputy chief minister, who hails from Telangana, said he would meet Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan to demand the sacking of Kiran Reddy.

Rajanarasimha told reporters that the chief minister had lost the confidence of the ministers from Telangana. "We no longer treat him as leader of the house," he said.

He alleged that by submitting a notice to the assembly speaker for moving a resolution to reject the Telangana bill, the chief minister had insulted the ministers from Telangana.

He said the fact that ministers from Telangana rushed to the well of the house shows that there was no government in the state.

Meanwhile, former president of the state Congress, D. Srinivas, met the governor and complained against the chief minister for trying to move a resolution to reject the bill sent by President Pranab Mukherjee.

The government chief whip in the assembly, G. Venkatramna Reddy, said both the chief minister and opposition leader N. Chandrababu Naidu were part of a conspiracy to stall the formation of Telangana state.