Five TRS ministers quit AP govt

Five Telangana Rashtra Samithi ministers on Monday quit the Congress-led coalition ministry in Andhra Pradesh, even as S Santosh Reddy, minister for transport, raised a banner of revolt and refused to resign.

While four ministers -- G Vijayarama Rao, T Harish Rao, A Chandrasekhar and V Lakshmikantha Rao -- handed over
their resignation letters to Governor Sushilkumar Shinde, Nayini Narasimha Reddy, who is away in the United
States, faxed his resignation to the Raj Bhavan.

But Reddy's refusal to quit has embarrassed the TRS.

Speaking to newsmen, Vijayarama Rao said they were forced to pull out of the Congress-led Cabinet due to the 'anti-Telangana' actions and decisions of the state government, particularly the hostile attitude of Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy.

He said the chief minister went ahead with the Pulichintala and Polavaram irrigation projects to benefit coastal Andhra disregarding TRS' objections.

Rao said the state government also aborted the peace initiative and launched an all-out

offensive against the Maoists and other Naxalite groups.

The TRS ministers' resignations came just hours before the chief minister embarks on a three-nation tour on Monday evening.

There is no immediate threat, though, to the stability of the AP government. The Congress has 185 members in the 294-member state assembly. The TRS has 26.

Speaking to newsmen, Reddy said: "There is no need for me to resign from the state Cabinet. If K Chandrasekhar Rao (TRS president and Union labour minister) wants the six ministers in the state Cabinet to quit, he and A Narendra (Union Minister of State for Rural Development) must also resign from the Union Cabinet."

"I will quit the Cabinet as well as my assembly membership only if all in the TRS members quit their posts. Otherwise, it is not democratic to force a decision on me. I am only responding to the call of my conscience. If will consult my supporters and constituents before deciding the future course of action in a democratic manner," he declared.