Govt decides to impose President's rule in Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh is set to come under a spell of President's Rule with the Union Cabinet today approving the state Governor's recommendation for it while keeping the Assembly under suspended animation.
Governor E S L Narasimhan had recommended central rule in the state after the resignation of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy days before Parliament gave its nod for the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
Andhra Pradesh will be the second state after Delhi to go under central rule with its Assembly being kept under suspended animation.
The bill to create the country's 29th state, by splitting Andhra Pradesh, was passed by Parliament on February 20 in the just-concluded Winter Session.

A number of ruling Congress MLAs from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema also announced resignation from their posts and also from the party over the issue of division.
Reddy had resigned on February 19 from his post as well as Congress protesting the manner in which the state was being divided "by throwing all norms to the wind" and lashed out at political parties for dividing the state in quest of "votes".

He had quit a day after the bill to carve out Telangana was passed by Lok Sabha with Congress and BJP coming together on the issue.
A section of the AP unit of Congress was in favour of propping up an interim government, contending that their prospects in Seemandhra were bleak now in view of the party pushing ahead with the formation of Telangana, coupled with the anti-incumbency factor after having been in office for ten years.

Ruling Congress, however, did not propose another candidate to succeed Reddy. He had tried to thwart division of Andhra Pradesh by ensuring rejection of the Telangana bill by the state legislature, invoking displeasure of the party.
The term of the 294-member current Andhra Pradesh Assembly expires on June 2, 2014 before which elections are to be held. The Election Commission is set to declare Assembly polls along with the Lok Sabha elections in the next few days.