The Congress party in Andhra Pradesh has approached Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar on Friday with a plea that he should accept the letters of resignation submitted by the 26 party MLAs.
Government whip Kondru Murali Mohan on Friday called on the Speaker in the Assembly and suggested that the resignations be accepted at the earliest. As many as 29 MLAs, including 26 of the Congress party, had sent in their resignation letters to protest against the inclusion of late Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy's name in the First Information Report filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against against his son Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy in the illegal assets case.
Mr. Murali Mohan put forth the view, already aired by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and the APCC president Botcha Satyanarayana that stern action would send the right signal and prevent further desertions from the Congress. They have also expressed the Congress party's readiness to face Assembly elections caused by the resignation of the MLAs.
Speaking to reporters here, Mr. Murali Mohan said the Congress had pressed for acceptance of the resignations as the rebels were making objectionable remarks against the party leadership.
The Congress Legislature Party has already submitted a petition seeking disqualification under the anti-defection law of four party MLAs - Konda Surekha, G. Srikanth Reddy, C. Adinarayana Reddy and A. Amaranatha Reddy. Similarly, the TDP has petitioned the Speaker to disqualify two of its MLAs N. Prasanna Kumar Reddy and Y. Balanagi Reddy. All these six MLAs are now sailing with the YSR Congress president Jaganmohan Reddy.