Hyderabad,Dec 10: In a day of quick developments on Thursday and within hours of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government making an announcement on initiating the process of the formation of separate Telangana state, the Rosaiah Government in the State plunged into a crisis with the mass resignations of MLAs from the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.About 75 legislators of various parties, including the ruling Congress, submitted their resignations to the Assembly Speaker, Mr N Kiran Kumar Reddy,on Thursday. In fact, the Speaker is also seriously considering to not only stepping down from the post but also to quit the Assembly too.Even the Congress and non-Congress MPs from both the Houses -- the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha -- from the two regions of Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema have sent in their resignations against the announcement of initiating the separate Telangana state formation.
A disturbed Chief Minister, Mr K Rosaiah, called for an emergency Cabinet meeting later in the day to dwell at length on the latest developments. Admitting that the MLAs and the MLCs of the Congress and the non-Congress parties did submit their resignations,a visibly shaken Mr Rosaiah told media persons that the prevailing panic situation in Rayalaseema and Andhra regions is totally uncalled for and without any basis.“There is absolutely no need to feel panic as if something unpalatable is going to happen. The Union Home Minister, Mr P Chidambaram, has only made the announcement that the process fort the separate Telangana will only be initiated. That does not mean that the process has already begun. Unless there is required majority in both the Assembly and the Council,the resolution for the formation of state cannot be passed. And, the resolution will be introduced only after eliciting the opinion of the leaders of all the parties from different regions,” he explained.
Mr Rosaiah also said that the Centre is keenly observing the fast developments in the State, particularly after the announcement on separate Telangana.In New Delhi,the Congress Lok Sabha member from Vijayawada, Mr Lagadapati Rajgopal,submitted his resignation to the Speaker. Other MPs from the Congress as well as Opposition parties too have threatened to following suit strongly protesting against the “unilateral” decision of the UPA Government on Telangana formation.Meanwhile, the universities located in the two regions of Rayalaseema and Coastal Andhra have declared holidays for two days after clashes broke out on their respective campuses with the students taking to the streets on Thursday.Angry youths also damaged some RTC buses in parts of Rayalaseema like Kadapa and Kurnool districts.