Congress MP from Anantapur Ananta Venkatrami Reddy said that he had urged the Lok Sabha Speaker to accept his resignation forthwith .
Speaking to The Hindu over phonefrom New Delhi, he said that he would join the mass movement for Samaikyandhra as soon as he returns to the district.
The resignations of the Congress MPs from the Seemandhra region should be seen as efforts to try and negate the process of the division of the State rather than as purely an emotional one.
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However, he accepted that pressure on the Congress parliamentarians was increasing by the day to get their resignations accepted.
‘Collective decision’
He said that all the Congress MPs from the region were a united unit and that the resignations by the MPs was a collective decision.
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‘Future at stake’
“We ensured that the process of the division is delayed and it is time that we put the welfare of the State and its people before everything else. This is not the time for politics. The very future of the people of the Seemandhra region is at stake and we as elected representatives cannot compromise on that,” Mr. Reddy said stopping just short of saying that he was willing to defy the party diktat on the issue if it comes to that. On the other hand, he said that the resignations of the Congress MPs would hopefully force the Union Government to reconsider its decision on the division of the State.
Administration in disarray
“We have spared no effort in taking the wishes of our people for a united State and the intensity of the movement to the party high command and the government,” he said even as he opined it was indeed sad that the government chose to remain a mute spectator even as lakhs of employees continue to strike for close to two months now and the administration in total disarray.