Telangana backlash: 98 MLAs resign over Telangana state

Thursday December 10, 2009, Hyderabad

Andhra Pradesh was plunged in political crisis on Thursday, hours after the Centre agreed to a separate Telangana state, with 98 MLAs, across parties, from the coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalaseema regions, resigning in protest. Of these 98 MLAs, 42 are from the Congress. From Chandrababu Naidu's Telugu Desam Party (TDP), 28 MLAs have already resigned and 14 more names figure on a list given to the Andhra Speaker, adding up to 42. Nine MLAs from Chiranjeevi's Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) have quit. Andhra Speaker Kiran Kumar Reddy however told NDTV that he had not accepted the resignations. He also asserted that there was "no threat to the government." Confronted with the awkward reality of the numbers, Andhra Chief Minister K Rosaiah has said he will not introduce any Bill in the Assembly for a Telangana state without a consensus among all MLAs. In numbers, MLAs from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema make up the sizeable chunk in the state Assembly, with only 119 of the 294 seats from the Telangana region. Of the 157 Congress MLAs, 51 are from Telangana and 106 from the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions and against bifurcation. But the 14 MLAs from Hyderabad too are not willing to let Hyderabad go to Telangana, which leaves only 37 Congress MLAs in support of Telangana. The state capital in fact is the main bone of contention, with the supporters of a Telangana state insisting that there can be no state without Hyderabad. TRS leader KT Rama Rao pointed out that "Hyderabad has been the capital of the Telangana region for 400 years....we would not accept it without the city". Congress MP from Telangana Hanumantha Rao too said Hyderabad would have to be part of the separate state. But those against bifurcation say Hyderabad should not be part of a Telangana package, if at all there is a package. There has been some talk of granting Union Territory status to the city. Congress MP from Vijayawada L Rajagopala has also reportedly resigned from the Lok Sabha. Sources say at least five other Congress MPs from the coastal Andhra region may join Rajagopala, an industrialist-turned-politician who has publicly opposed the bifurcation of Andhra. Members of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) have vandalized his home in the past because of his stand against a Telangana state. MPs from Telangana too met Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to thank them. Sonia reportedly asked them to "be calm." Thursday's backlash exposes the deep divide not only within the Congress but also within the TDP. The TDP had fought the Lok Sabha elections in partnership with the TRS this year on an agenda that explicitly promised a separate Telangana state. Now, almost half of its 93 MLAs have quit. And party chief Chandrababu Naidu has lashed out at the Congress for "making Andhra a laughing stock"