Telangana row: Congress leaders adopt 3 resolutions, seek CM`s resignation

Hyderabad: Defiant Congress leaders from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions ignored the party high command`s directive to withdraw their resignations and upped their ante on Saturday night by adopting three resolutions, one of which demanded reconsideration of Telangana decision and asking Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy to quit.

About 90 Congress ministers, MLCs and MLAs had an over five-and-a-half hour meeting with the Chief Minister and PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana this evening. Among other two resolutions adopted is putting on hold the bifurcation process until a high-level committee headed by Union Minister AK Antony submitted its report on the modalities related to the division. In the third resolution, the Congress leaders took strong objection to the manner in which the party`s Central Working Committee took the decision to divide the state without any road map. "All legislators, including the Chief Minister and the PCC president, were signatories to the resolutions," senior MLA Anam Vivekananda Reddy told reporters at the end of the meeting. Initially, a one-line resolution was adopted at the meeting demanding that the state be kept united. After a few legislators left mid-way, ministers and seniors MLAs like JC Diwakar Reddy, Gade Venkat Reddy and others continued their deliberations with the CM and the PCC chief. Heat was generated at the meeting with senior legislators like Gade Venkata Reddy demanding that the chief minister and the PCC president step down from their posts. The legislators, in fact, wanted Botsa to join the movement, launched by people of Andhra-Rayalaseema, for a unified state. The AICC observers also joined the meeting and told the legislators to "fall in line" as the party high command has already constituted a committee headed by AK Antony to look into the demands of people of Andhra-Rayalaseema and address their concerns, informed sources said.The Chief Minister told the agitated legislators that they all could vent their feelings in the Assembly during the discussion of the resolution for bifurcation of the state. "Let us put forth our views in a democratic way and everything will get recorded," he reportedly said. The meeting, held in the backdrop of resignation submitted by five ministers and almost all of the 75 MLAs from the two regions, was also attended by AICC observers Thirunavukkarasu and Ramachandra Kuntia. At the meeting, the Congress leaders adopted a one-line resolution requesting the Congress high command to reconsider the CWC resolution seeking bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. "We want the state to be kept united," the resolution said. More than 10 MLCs have also put in their papers though the numbers are still ambiguous. Thirunavukkarasu and Ramachandra Kuntia, who had been camping in the city for the last three days, held talks with the chief minister and the PCC chief in the evening and also discussed the developments in the aftermath of the CWC resolution on the division of the state. The AICC leaders reportedly told Kiran and Botsa that the high command wanted them to get the resignations of the ministers, MLCs and MLAs withdrawn as the party was seriously trying to address the bifurcation issue. Five ministers and an unspecified number of MLCs and MLAs, have put in their papers in the last three days as protests in Andhra-Rayalaseema regions continued unabated for the fourth consecutive day. About 19 ministers and 50 MLCs and MLAs turned up at the chief minister`s camp office for the meeting to discuss the political developments. Earlier in the day, some ministers, MPs and MLAs from Telangana region also met the CM and discussed the political developments. Union Minister of State for Tribal Affairs Balram Naik, state ministers K Jana Reddy, Ponnala Lakshmaiah, D Sridhar Babu, MP V Hanumantha Rao and others were among those who met Kiran Reddy. They appealed to the Chief Minister to ensure that party leaders from both regions maintained restraint and not stir up passions. PTI