Hyderabad, December 14: AP government that threatened to snowball into a constitutional crisis as well showed some signs of being defused with the ministers hailing from both the Telangana and also Andhra and Rayalaseema regions asserting tonight there was no threat to the Cabinet.
While the Telangana ministers asserted that there was no question of their quitting the Cabinet, the Andhra and Rayalaseema ministers who yesterday threatened to resign in protest against the proposed bifurcation of the state have almost decided to give up their plan.
Chief Minister K Rosaiah held talks with the two groups of ministers together at his residence late tonight and reportedly prevailed upon them to “stay calm.”.
Emerging out of the meeting with the Chief Minister, Revenue Minister Dharmana Prasada Rao said there was “no crisis” in the state and the Cabinet was very much intact.
“There are no cracks in the state Cabinet as being projected. We are all united. Let there be no misgivings about this,” Dharmana, a minister from coastal Andhra region told newsmen outside the Chief Minister’s residence.
Home Minister P Sabita Reddy was also present with Dharmana but she did not say anything.
Separately, Information Minister J Geeta Reddy, who was among the Telangana ministers who attended a meeting at the residence of Information Technology Minister Komatireddy Venkata Reddy tonight, said there was no need for them to resign on the separate statehood issue.
“The statement from the Centre on formation of Telangana state came for us. So, no question arises about our resignation,” she said at the end of the meeting.
She said 11 ministers from Telangana and 13 MPs met to express their gratitude to Congress president Sonia Gandhi for initiating the process of carving out a separate Telangana state.
Referring to the ongoing protests in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions over the proposed move to bifurcate the state, Reddy said none of the leaders were fomenting trouble. “Let us have peace,” she appealed.
On the resignation threat of their Cabinet colleagues from Andhra and Rayalaseema, the minister said: “Let us all strengthen the hands of our leader Sonia Gandhi.”
Komatireddy Venkata Reddy requested the MLAs who have submitted their resignations to withdraw them and “co-operate for the division of the state as good brothers”.
Interestingly, the two ministers hailing from Hyderabad city Danam Nagender and M Mukesh Goud who raised the demand that Greater Hyderabad be granted Union Territory status in the event of forming Telangana state, did not attend the meeting of the Telangana ministers and MPs.
-PTI