Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Ahead of the proposed presentation of the Telangan Bill in the Rajya Sabha today, which got the Lok Sabha nod on Tuesday, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy has confirmed that he will quit from his post while Union Tourism Minister Chiranjeevi has threatened to stall the proceedings in the Upper House.
The Lok Sabha yesterday cleared the separation of Telangana from Andhra region after fifty-eight years of unification.
Pro-united Andhra supporters said that the division will enrich Telangana and feared the region may fall into the hands of Maoists like neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
Seemandhra MP L Rajagopal, who had created a storm by splashing pepper spray in Lok Sabha, today resigned from Parliament and announced quitting politics, saying he was "hurt" as Telugu people have been divided following the passage of Telangan bill in Lok Sabha.
With the AP Reorganisation Bill getting passed in the Lok Sabha today, Reddy is said to have made up his mind to quit after a vain fight on the bifurcation issue.
Initially, Reddy was supposed to step down as Chief Minister today once the discussion on AP Reorganisation Bill began in Parliament. But he is said to have deferred his plans following an “advice” by some Seemandhara MPs, sources close to him said.
By relieving two of his Special Secretaries of their duties in a bureaucratic reshuffle last night, the Chief Minister dropped enough hints that he was on his way out.
Chiranjeevi, the actor-turned-politician from Seemandhra today said, “The show has not finished.”
"Now I am saying. Tomorrow, we have chance again to stall the Rajya Sabha," Chiranjeevi, who is a member of the upper House added.
Congress MLA from Ramchandrapuram in East Godavari district, Thota Trimurthulu, also resigned on Tuesday from the primary membership of the party to protest against the division of Andhra Pradesh.
Expressing his displeasure over the way in which the bill was passed, Chiranjeevi charged that the sentiments of Seemandhra people were not considered.
Seconding his views, Union Minister from Seemandhara MM Pallam Raju said he was saddened about the manner in which the Bill has been cleared.
Asked whether he would tender his resignation to protest against it, Raju wondered what would be the impact of his resignation.
Meanwhile, YSR Congress leader Jagan Mohan Reddy today termed the passage of the Telangana Bill in the Lok Sabha as a "murder" of democracy and called for a bandh in Andhra Pradesh today in protest, a PTI report said.
He claimed the government adopted various "undemocratic" norms in passing the legislation, undermining the will of the people of Andhra Pradesh and the resolution passed by the State Assembly.
With the Lok Sabha passing the Bill for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana is likely to become the 29th state of India. Telangana contributes 60 percent of revenues of existing Andhra Pradesh. Majority of revenue comes from Hyderabad, which emerged as a key IT hub in the country during last 15 years.
With PTI inputs
