17 MLAs revolt against Cong govt in Andhra Pradesh

The unexpected development came on a day when the assembly took up for discussion the no-confidence motion moved by main opposition Telugu Desam Party and when Congress was busy trying to lure its MLAs back from YSR Congress led by Jaganmohan Reddy.

Compounding the woes of Congress, 21 of its MLAs loyal to Jaganmohan Reddy, the Kadapa MP, announced his party members would vote in favour of the no-confidence motion even if they faced disqualification.

"We have decided to abide by the decision of our leader Jagan. We are not bothered about who moved the no-trust motio....we will vote for it since farmers of the state have been left in the lurch by this government", Congress MLA Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose told newsmen at the end of their meeting with Jagan this evening.

Two senior ministers reportedly tried to talk to the 17 MLAs to do some damage control.
Tirupati MLA and film actor K Chiranjeevi, who was the founder-president of PRP, acknowledged his group of MLAs was "totally unhappy" about what had been happening with them.

The MLAs, who are still being treated as PRP group in the Assembly because of some technical issues, met in their legislature party office and vent their serious displeasure over being "cold shouldered" by Congress.

"It is because of our support that the Kiran Kumar Reddy government is surviving. We have lent it support at a most critical time but now nobody in the government is caring a damn about us.     We probably committed a mistake by merging PRP with Congress," the MLAs reportedly told Chiranjeevi at the meeting.

Many see the sudden rebellion by the Chiranjeevi camp MLAs as a means of exerting pressure on Congress to honour its "promise" reportedly made on the eve of the merger of two parties to give at least three cabinet berths to them and a "befitting" position for Chiranjeevi either in the state or at the Centre.

Though over three months elapsed since the formal merger of PRP with Congress, there are no signs of taking the Chiranjeevi group MLAs into the state cabinet.

Chiranjeevi endorsed the MLAs' views and reportedly said the Congress high command "failed" to keep any of the "promises" it gave him at the time of merger.

"It is only because of our support that the government is surviving. But it has left our MLAs totally disillusioned," Chiranjeevi told newsmen after the meeting.
Panic buttons were pressed in the Congress camp as news spread of the PRP legislators’ rebellion.

But they could not do anything immediately as the assembly was caught in a logjam over TDP’s no-confidence motion and TRS’ insistence on a resolution seeking a separate state of Telangana.

However, two senior ministers were asked to take stock of the happenings in PRP group and do the required damage control, party sources said.

The assembly will take up discussion on TDP’s no-confidence motion on Sunday and Monday and voting on it would take place on Monday night.