Seemandhra
ministers, including Pallam Raju resign over Telangana decision
A day after the Union cabinet
approved the formation of Telangana as the 29th state, minister of human
resource development Pallam Raju resigned to protest against the decision.
"I have not acted in haste, my decision to resign was
carefully thought out," Raju said, alleging the cabinet did not take their
"anguish" into account while taking the decision.
"It is a very sad state for
Andhra Pradesh, and I am aggrieved at the rush to bifurcate the state,"
Raju added.
Raju is one of the six central
ministers from Seemandhra region to resign.
Raju called Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh immediately after the cabinet meeting to convey his decision to
quit. Singh advised him not to act in haste.
Minister of textiles KS Rao,
ministers of state K Chiranjeevi and Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy also announced
their resignations.
D Purandeswari and K Krupa Rani
on Friday said they too were resigning to protest against the cabinet decision
to create a separate Telangana state. Suryaprakash Reddy is from Rayalaseema
while the other ministers are from coastal Andhra.
Chiranjeevi faxed his resignation
to Singh, sources in the Congress party said. Other ministers said they have
resigned, but there is no confirmation if they sent their resignation letters.
Four Congress MPs, V Arun Kumar,
Ananta Venkatarami Reddy, A Sai Pratap and Sabbam Hari also resigned Thursday.
They also announced they are resigning from the primary membership of the
party.
Three other central ministers
from coastal Andhra and more MPs may resign Friday due to the mounting pressure
from the people who are opposed to the state's division. (Hindustan Times - 4th Oct 2013) http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Hyderabad/Telangana-turmoil-Pallam-Raju-five-Seemandhra-ministers-resign-in-protest/Article1-1130873.aspx