Seemandhra leaders split over resignations

Highlights

The efforts of the Seemandhra Congress leaders to put pressure on the party high command by threatening to resign en masse if the Cabinet note on bifurcation of State gets approved seem to have run into rough weather. At least three Union Ministers and an equal number of MPs are opposing the proposal to tender resignations.

  • Central and State Ministers and MPs to meet in Hyd today
  • may issue resignation threat to the high command
  • Pallam, Kotla and Kavuri only Ministers ready to step down
  • State Ministers to quit if Cabinet approves T note

Hyderabad: The efforts of the Seemandhra Congress leaders to put pressure on the party high command by threatening to resign en masse if the Cabinet note on bifurcation of State gets approved seem to have run into rough weather. At least three Union Ministers and an equal number of MPs are opposing the proposal to tender resignations.

The Union Ministers and the MPs from the region are slated to meet at Ministers’ Quarters here on Saturday to work out a strategy to stop the process of division of the State. The meeting assumes importance in the wake of reports that the Union Home Ministry’s note on Telangana will be presented before the Cabinet on September 19.

The proposal of en masse resignations was mooted by some leaders like Kavuri Sambasiva Rao and Lagadapati Rajagopal, MP. But on the eve of the meeting, Ministers Kishore Chandra Deo, J D Seelam and Panabaka Lakshmi opposed the move and said that it would serve no purpose.

A senior MP Rayapati Sambasiva Rao felt that if the Congress leaders were serious, then they should first send their resignations and then hold a meeting. Rao told media that he would not be participating in the meeting though Rajagopal and others had invited him. He said the situation in the region was tense and the people’s representatives were not in a position to enter their constituencies. Hence, they should first resign and then join the agitation.

Mere holding of meetings would be of no use and this would not put any kind of pressure on the high command, he observed. Seelam said that resignations would not help and their presence in the Lok Sabha was necessary to defeat the Bill when it was moved.

However, a good number of ministers in the State Cabinet are inclined to resign once the Cabinet note gets approved. The Saturday meeting will also discuss the status of Hyderabad in case the high command goes ahead with implementing its decision to divide the state.

According to sources, except M M Pallam Raju, Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy and Kavuri no other minister including K Chiranjeevi is reportedly willing to sacrifice their positions for the sake of united Andhra Pradesh. After their meeting on Saturday the Seemandhra leaders will meet the Chief Minister. They are also likely to meet party president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday to inform her of their decision. There are total of 25 MPs in Lok Sabha from Seemandhra region. Of them 19 are from Congress party, two are YSRCP members and four are TDP. Of the 19 MPs nine are ministers.

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