More MLAs quit; violence mars bandh in Andhra, Rayalaseema

Hyderabad: The political crisis in Andhra Pradesh over the Telangana issue intensified on Friday with the number of MLAs resigning climbing to 130 as protests broke out in non-Telangana regions over the Centre’s decision to split the state.

From a gram panchayat ward member to an MP, elected representatives at different levels of the political pyramid cutting across party lines have resigned from their posts in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions strongly protesting the "unilateral decision" of the Congress to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh. Scores of panchayat ward members, sarpanches, mandal parishad territorial constituency members, mandal parishad presidents, zilla parishad territorial constituency members, municipal councillors, municipal chairpersons, municipal corporation corporators, mayors, zilla parishad chiefs, MLAs, MLCs and MPs belonging to Congress, Telugu Desam and Praja Rajyam have put in their papers.

Ministers, both Central and state, hailing from the region, however, haven't yet decided on their resignations despite mounting pressure from their respective regions for them to follow in the footsteps of fellow legislators. The ministers so far have remained silent on the issue.

While the number of MPs who resigned is five (two Congress and three TDP), the number of MLAs touched 130, including 76 Congress, 40 TDP and 14 PRP. As many as 34 members of the state Legislative Council have also tendered their resignation, strongly denouncing the Centre's move to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh. The en masse resignation spree is seen as an unprecedented development in the political history anywhere in the country so far.

Twenty-three more MLAs submitted their resignation to Speaker Kiran Kumar Reddy. In all 76 MLAs from Congress have resigned, 40 from TD and 14 from PR in the 294-member Assembly.

Amid a debate over whether or not to continue Assembly proceedings in the wake of the en masse resignations of legislators, the Speaker adjourned the House till Monday.

The Speaker made it clear that he has to speak to all those who quit before taking a decision after ascertaining if they resigned due to their own volition or due to any compulsion.

In view of the crisis, the state government is holding consultations with the attorney-general.

The Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, has called a meeting of floor leaders of all parties to take stock of the situation.

Incidents of violence and stoning of buses were reported in towns of coastal Andhra and Rayasaleema against the Centre’s decision to carve out Telangana state.

Speaking in the Assembly, Mr Rosaiah appealed to people of all the regions and political parities to act with restraint. Referring to the protests in Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, he said there was tension and students were boycotting classes. He voiced concern over the growing incidents of violence.

Mr Rosaiah also called a meeting of the floor leaders of all the parties to discuss the issue of resignations.

In New Delhi, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, is meeting Andhra MPs to take stock of the situation.

At the start of the proceedings, the AP Speaker announced that 103 MLAs of Congress, TD and PRP have resigned and that he will go by the rule book while taking a decision on them.

When legislators protesting the proposed division of the state to carve out Telangana rushed to the Speaker’s podium and stalled the proceedings, the house was adjourned. TRS legislators raised the slogans of "Jai Telangana" as legislators from other regions rushed to the podium.

As soon as the House met for the day, the issue of the resignation of legislators from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions came up. Since only 83 members were present in the 294-member house, Mr Reddy sought the opinion of the leaders of all parties on whether the House should be run.

Mr Rosaiah said the House should be run smoothly so that all the issues could be discussed to find a solution.

Earlier, the Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) leader, Mr Akbaruddin Owaisi, wondered how the House could be run when majority of the members were not present. To this the Speaker said those who had submitted their resignations continued to be members of the house as he had not accepted them.

The Praja Rajyam president, Mr Chiranjeevi, said that while the resolution on the formation of Telangana state was a right decision, the methodology adopted was not proper.