Four AP ministers firm on quitting

Union HRD Minister Pallam Raju on Monday finally submitted a letter quitting the Cabinet after dithering for days on the issue of his resignation over the Telangana issue.

He, along with three others, has approached Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to press him to relieve them from their duties. Two more ministers were with Raju, but their stand on the issue was not known.

The ministers failed to get any assurance from Singh who, they claimed, told them that he would look into their demands. Besides Raju, the ministers who met the prime minister were K Chiranjeevi, D Purandeswari, Surya Prakash Reddy, K S Rao and Killi Kripa Rani. Rao and Killi Kripa Rani did not attend a press conference at which the others were present, indicating that there are differences among them.

At the meeting with the prime minister, the ministers apprised Singh and others of  the difficulty they are facing due to the decision of the central government to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh with the creation of Telangana.

Raju, who had announced his resignation earlier, submitted his letter on Monday.
Raju was initially won over by the prime minister and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and had kept his resignation pending.

At a press conference after the meeting, Purandeswari, who was flanked by Raju, Reddy and Chiranjeevi, said that they have requested the prime minister to expedite the process of accepting their resignations.

"We need to go back to the people and tell the people how we want to solve this issue and people are not wiling to listen to us unless we tender our resignations and go back as one of them. So, as long as we continue as ministers they are not going to listen to us. 

“So we put the entire situation before the prime minister and requested him to accept our resignation,” she said. Chiranjeevi echoed Purandeswari.