Hyderabad, December 11: The turmoil in Andhra Pradesh over the creation of a separate Telangana state continues, as more MLAs resigned taking the total number to 117. The AP assembly has been adjourned till Monday and Chief Minister K Rosaiah has appealed for peace amid calls for a bandh in the state.
Non-Telangana regions of Andhra Pradesh today reported protests and bandhs while incidents of violence and stoning of buses were reported in towns of coastal Andhra and Rayasaleema against the Centre’s decision to carve out Telangana state.
AP Speaker Kiran Kumar Reddy announced in the Assembly today that 117 MLAs of Congress, TDP and PRP have resigned and that he will go by the rule book while taking a decision on them. He said he will have to ascertain if the members resigned due to their own volition or due to any compulsion.
Members including PRP Chief Chiranjeevi raised the issue in the house and felt the decision on a separate Telangana should have been taken through consensus. Out of those who have resigned, 67 MLAs belong to Congress, 37 to TDP and 13 to PRP
Earlier today, TRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao was discharged from Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences (NIMS) hospital. The TRS chief was fasting-unto-death for the demand of a separate state of Telangana. He broke his 11-day-old hunger strike on Wednesday night after the Centre accepted his demand. Rao broke his fast at NIMS after accepting a glass of juice from TRS ideologue Jayashankar shortly after midnight.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh MPs are scheduled to meet Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Parliament shortly.
–Agencies