The political backlash in Andhra Pradesh over Telangana decision took a new turn on Saturday with as many as 20 ministers hailing from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions planning to resign from their posts en masse.
The ministers, under immense pressure from their constituents to quit following the Centre’s decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, met in a star hotel here this afternoon and decided to put in their papers.
“We have decided to resign from our posts. We have asked three of our colleagues-Dharmana Prasada Rao, Gade Venkata Reddy and C Silpa Mohan Reddy- to communicate our decision to Chief Minister K. Rosaiah,” State Municipal Administration Minister Aanam Ramanarayana Reddy told newspersons after the meeting.
Immediately, Dharmana, Gade and Silpa Mohan rushed to the Secretariat to meet the Chief Minister.
After their meeting, however, the Ministers maintained that they had not taken up the resignation issue with Mr. Rosaiah yet. “We will meet him later in the evening and discuss the issue,” Mr. Dharmana and Mr. Gade told reporters.
The Chief Minister, meanwhile, refused to speak to the media and left for home.
The Chief Minister had ruled out the tabling of a resolution for creation of separate Telangana in the Assembly immediately and that he was “astonished, surprised and anguished” by Union Home Minister P Chidambaram’s statement on initiating steps for creation of a new State.
He said he discussed with the high command the issue of Telangana but he had told them that to pass a resolution in the Assembly was difficult and he had expressed his “fears“.
“There was preparation but to my astonishment, to my surprise and anguish, the so-called statement issued by Mr. Chidambaram has created a sort of flutter among the youth of coastal areas of Rayalaseema starting from Srikakulam up to Tirupati to Kadapa,” he said.
TRS chief K. Chandrasekhar Rao, on the other hand, threw the ball in Centre’s court on the creation of Telangana and insisted that Hyderabad will be capital of the proposed State.
Mr. Rao ruled out sharing of Hyderabad as capital with Andhra Pradesh like Chandigarh being shared by Haryana and Punjab. .
“Chandigarh and Hyderabad can never be compared“.
“Having made the announcement, it is upto them (the Centre) to resolve the issue. I think, they are at it”, Mr. Rao, recuperating at his home after a 13-day fast, said.
