Telangana issue: CM urges AP ministers to mull resigning after Delhi visit

Hyderabad: Even as they insisted that he forward their resignations to the Governor, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy today told his ministers from the Andhra-Rayalaseema region that they could take a decision on quitting after a visit to New Delhi. The ministers in question had submitted their resignations early last month in protest against the move to bifurcate the state.

Infrastructure Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Law Minister Erasu Pratap Reddy, Co-operatives Minister Kasu Venkata Krishna Reddy and Forests Minister Satrucharla Vijayarama Raju today met the CM here to discuss the issue. Ganta and Erasu later met Governor ESL Narasimhan at Raj Bhavan where they sought to submit their resignations directly to him. However, the Governor reportedly refused to accept the resignations saying he would consider receiving them only if the letters were forwarded to him by the CM. "We want to take an active part in the ongoing agitation for a unified state, but as ministers, we can`t be confined to only one region. "So, we wanted our resignations to be accepted first," Ganta and Erasu told reporters after their meeting with the Governor. The CM told the ministers that they would soon go to New Delhi to inform the Congress high command about the strong public movement for a "unified" state and exert pressure on the Centre to stall the bifurcation. "We can take a decision on resignations after that," he reportedly told his ministers. PTI