Hyderabad, December 10: The Centre’s decision to carve out a separate Telangana state today provoked a political backlash cutting across party lines from the rest of Andhra Pradesh with 93 MLAs quitting the Assembly.
Three MPs–two from Congress and one belonging to TDP– also threatened to resign from Parliament protesting against the decision to confer statehood on Telangana region in the wake of TRS leader K Chandrasekhar Rao’s ‘fast unto death’ protest, which he has called off now now.
Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, emerged as a bone of contention between the two sides with Telangana leaders insisting that it should remain with their region while those from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema opposed it being ceded to the new state.
The Congress High Command, which apparently did not not expect such a strong reaction from the other regions, got into a damage-control mode with party President Sonia Gandhi meeting MPs from Andhra Pradesh.
Gandhi told agitated non-Telangana MPs that all views would be taken into account during talks.
TDP, whose leader N Chandrababu Naidu had expressed support for Telangana a few days ago, today made a u-turn and expressed total opposition to the bifurcation and Hyderabad going away to Telangana.
Sensing trouble, Chief Minister K Rosaiah said he would consult all political parties before tabling a resolution in the Assembly for creation of Telangana.
–PTI–