Transport Minister S Santosh Reddy, who had created a flutter by refusing to resign from the Andhra Pradesh Cabinet
alongwith his five colleagues from the Telangana Rashtra Samithi on July 4, finally relented and submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
Speaking to newsmen after handing in his resignation, Santosh Reddy said that he had no differences with the TRS leadership and a misunderstanding that had cropped up earlier had been sorted out.
The chief minister had gone on a week-long three-nation tour on July 4 hours after five TRS ministers submitted their resignations to the governor.
He returned to Hyderabad on Tuesday and is yet to act on the resignations. "I have sought time from the governor and will take a decision in due course," he said.
The ministers had claimed that 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 the chief minister. The chief minister had apparently gone ahead with the Pulichintala and Polavaram irrigation projects to benefit coastal Andhra disregarding TRS' objections.
It may be recalled that while four TRS ministers met Governor Sushil Kumar Shinde and handed over their resignations on July 4, another TRS minister, who was away in the United States, had faxed his resignation to the governor.
Santosh Reddy had crossed swords with TRS president and Union Minister for Labour K Chandrasekhar Rao by defying his diktat to quit the state Cabinet.
Santosh Reddy had even declared that he will resign only if Chandrasekhar Rao and Union Minister of State for Rural Development A Narendra also quit the Central Cabinet. Later, he was persuaded by partymen to go to Delhi for a meeting with Chandrasekhar Rao and Narendra to sort out the differences.
Santosh Reddy explained that his resignation was delayed by over a week because he was preoccupied with the strike by Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation employees and negotiations of the Cabinet sub-committee with the Joint Action Committee of the Road Transport Corporation employees unions.