Hyderabad, December 24: The political crisis in Andhra Pradesh over the Telangana issue deepened Thursday night with all 13 ministers from the region deciding to resign while 64 legislators – cutting across political lines – have so far submitted their resignations to the assembly speaker.
Minister for Higher Education D. Sridhar Babu told reporters that ministers from the region decided to meet Chief Minister K. Rosaiah Friday and submit their resignations.
He said they would also visit New Delhi to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi and convey their views on the issue.
The meeting felt that the latest statement by the centre on Telangana lacked clarity and created apprehension about government’s commitment to carve out a Telangana state.
The decision by 12 ministers came hours after their colleague Komatireddy Venkata Reddy announced his resignation both as minister and legislator.
The minister told reporters that he was resigning while respecting the sentiments of the people of Telangana.
Meanwhile, Speaker Kirankumar Reddy said he had so far received resignations of 64 legislators from Telangana. They include 21 of ruling Congress party, 29 of the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP), all 10 of Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS), one of Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) and one independent.
There are 119 legislators from Telangana in the 294-member assembly. All 50 legislators of Congress and 38 of TDP have reportedly decided to quit. The remaining legislators are likely to submit their resignations Friday.
–Agencies