TDP leader quits after Andhra CM drops him from cabinet

Amaravati: Unhappy over being dropped from Andhra Pradesh cabinet, senior TDP leader B. Gopalakrishna Reddy resigned from the state assembly on Sunday.

Gopalakrishna Reddy sent his resignation letter to Speaker Kodela Sivaprasada Rao and Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.

He was one of the five ministers dropped by Naidu. Eleven new ministers including the Chief Minister's son Nara Lokesh were inducted into the Cabinet.

According to TDP sources, Naidu dropped Gopalakrishna Reddy, who was holding the forest portfolio, to accommodate Amarnath Reddy, a member of opposition YSR Congress party who had crossed over to the TDP.

Gopalakrishna Reddy is a friend of Naidu and had earlier served as a minister in his Cabinet in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. They both hail from Chittoor district.

Gopalakrishna Reddy was also injured with Naidu when Maoists targeted the Chief Minister with landmine blast in 2003 near Tirupati.