AP: 20 ministers resign over Telangana

Political crisis in Andhra Pradesh over the proposed Telangana statehood further deepened on Saturday with 20 ministers resigning for the cabinet.

The dramatic move came after the ministers from coastal Andhra and Rayala Seema region met at a five-star hotel in Hyderabad to chalk out their future strategy.

Anam Ramanarayana Reddy, minister for municipal administration, said all ministers from Andhra and Rayala Seema met in Hyderabad on Saturday and unanimously decided to fight for an integrated Andhra Pradesh.

"We want Andhra Pradesh to remain united in accordance with the wishes of the late Y S Rajasekhara Reddy," he said.
After this move, the strength of the Assembly will be reduced to 13 and all of them are from Telangana region.

He said that after the resignation of legislators, all the ministers were also under tremendous pressure from the people to quit.

"Accordingly we have decided to take this step. We hope that the central and the state government will take appropriate action to ensure the unity of the state."

Three senior ministers Dharmana Prasad Rao, Gade Venkat Reddy and Shilpa Mohan Reddy met Chief Minister K Rosaiah to apprise him of the decision.

"Further action will depend on the response of the chief minister", Ramanarayana Reddy said.

Meanwhile, the Congress legislators in Telangana have made it clear that nothing less than separate Telangana will be acceptable to them.

"After having taken a bold step, the Central government can not go back on it," said Yadav Reddy, a Congress legislator.