Andhra minister resigns in support of Telangana demand

"I gave a commitment to the students of Osmania University agitating for Telangana. As per my promise, I submitted my resignation to the Governor and urged him to accept it," he told reporters at the Raj Bhawan.

Rao had in March submitted his resignation to Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and Congress President Sonia Gandhi urging that a definite action plan be announced for the formation of Telangana.

Alleging that MLAs from non-Telangana region had scuttled the formation of Telangana by resigning en masse after the Centre made an announcement in this regard in 2009, Rao said the public representatives in Telangana had the responsibility to give them a "befitting reply".

Rao had undertaken a march in his native Mahbubnagar district last month on the Telangana issue but it drew the ire of his cabinet colleague and Information Minister D K Aruna.

Alleging that Rao was trying to gain political dominance in Mahbubnagar through his 'padyatra', Aruna announced that she would not allow the march in her assembly constituency of Gadwal.