Cong MLA, YSRC legislators want united AP

 A senior Congress MLA and 16 YSR Congress legislators in Andhra Pradesh submitted their resignations on Thursday, demanding a united Andhra Pradesh. The resignations came on the eve of a meeting of the Congress leadership in New Delhi, which is expected to deliberate on statehood for Telangana.

The Congress top brass is expected to discuss the Telangana issue, with particular focus on the status of Hyderabad. The Congress core group, led by party president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is expected to take a final call on the formation of Telangana, following which a Congress Working Committee meeting is likely to be convened.

Senior Congress leader and Kamalapuram MLA Veera Shiva Reddy on Thursday resigned from the Congress and the state Assembly. He submitted his resignation to the Speaker. He also sent his resignation letter to state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana.

Reddy is the first Congress MLA to resign in favour of “Samaikhya Andhra.” Until now, two Congress MPs have resigned in favour of Telangana. Earlier, Manda Jagannatham and former MP K Kesava Rao quit the Congress, in protest against the inordinate delay in deciding on the Telangana issue and joined the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS).

The timing of Veerasiva Reddy’s resignation is crucial since Satyanarayana, Chief Minister Kirankumar Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Rajnarsimha will be in Delhi to explain their point of view to the core committee which is inching close to a final decision on the Telangana issue. However, the TRS saw the hand of Kiran Kumar Reddy in Veera Shiva Reddy’s resignation and termed it “a resi-drama.”

Meanwhile, 16 YSR Congress legislators, including those from Udaigiri, Raichoti, Tirupathi, Macharla, Raidurgam, Anantapur, Ongole, Railway Koduru, Kovvur, Allagadda and Rajampet, barring honorary president Y S Vijayalakshmi, tendered their resignations in favour of a united Andhra Pradesh on Thursday.

The saga of resignations began in Rayalaseema in support of a united Andhra Pradesh in the first week of July, to counter efforts of the Telangana Congress leaders who put forward their demand for a separate Telangana state successfully.

At an all-party meeting held in Kadapa by the Sama­ikyandhra JAC, three MLAs and two MLCs resigned. MLAs Adinarayana Reddy (Congress), Srikant Reddy and Srinivasulu (YSRC) and MLCs Narayana Reddy and Pullayya (YSRC) submitted their resignations to the JAC at the meeting.

Meanwhile, two Rayalaseema Congress leaders, T G Venkatesh and Erasu Pratapa Reddy, denied reports that they wish to quit the party and the cabinet in protest against the state's division. The duo said they would abide by the decision of the Congress high command. Explaining that they did not say they would resign, the ministers said they would bring the sentiments of the people of the region to the notice of the Congress leadership. They would strongly voice their demand for keeping the state united, the ministers added.

To counter the Seemandhra leaders, the ministers from the Telangana region met at the residence of senior minister K Janareddy and discussed ramifications of the resignations by the Congress and YSRC members and its impact on the core committee meeting.

“We are watching the developments closely and ready to leave for Delhi if the situation requires,” Jana Reddy said. He stressed that the Telangana ministers were asked by the party high command to refrain from vitiating the situation by reacting to united Andhra Pradesh protagonists.