Telangana row: PM to take a call on resignations of Seemandhra ministers

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will take a call on the resignations of three Union ministers who quit office over the Union Cabinet`s decision to proceed with the creation of Telangana state.

Zee Media Bureau

Hyderabad: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will on Saturday decide on the resignations of three Union ministers who quit office over the Union Cabinet`s decision to proceed with the creation of Telangana state. Minister of Human Resource Development Pallam Raju, who was present at Thursday`s Cabinet meeting, resigned on Friday night. Ministers of State K Chiranjeevi and Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy have also announced their resignations. The PM will decide on the resignations of the above-mentioned ministers today. Besides Raju, Chiranjeevi and Reddy, Minister of Textiles KS Rao, D Purandeswari (MoS Commerce) and Killi Kruparani (MoS IT and Communications) are also understood to have resigned to protest the Cabinet decision. Suryaprakash Reddy is from Rayalaseema while the other ministers are from coastal Andhra. The Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh has been witnessing huge protests since two days. Chiranjeevi faxed his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, sources in the Congress party said. Other ministers said they have resigned, but there is no confirmation if they sent their resignation letters to the Prime Minister. Pallam Raju called the Prime Minister immediately after the Cabinet meeting to convey his decision to quit. Manmohan Singh advised him not to act in haste. Four Congress MPs V Arun Kumar, Ananta Venkatarami Reddy, A Sai Pratap and Sabbam Hari also resigned on Thursday. They also announced they are resigning from the primary membership of the party.