Hyderabad: The political crisis in Andhra Pradesh, triggered by the Central government's decision to grant separate statehood to Telangana, deepened on Friday with legislators from two other regions continuing their mass resignations while shutdowns paralysed life in parts of the state.
Andhra Pradesh stood divided on regional lines, with as many as 130 legislators submitting their resignations protesting the decision on Telangana.
However, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said no hasty decision will be taken on the issue of a separate Telangana state, Congress MPs from the coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions who met him Friday in New Delhi quoted him as saying.
As many as 20 Congress MPs, including union ministers, led by K Sambasiva Rao met the Prime Minister and raised their apprehensions on carving out Telangana from Andhra Pradesh.
"The Prime Minister has assured us that no hasty decision will be taken on this issue. He said the matter will be discussed in the Congress core committee meeting expected later Friday," Rao told reporters.
L Rajagaopal, one of the three Congress MPs who have submitted their resignations, has threatened to launch a fast unto death to prevent bifurcation of the state. The MP from Vijayawada said he would never accept a separate Telangana state.
Cutting across party lines, 130 state legislators from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions also have submitted their resignations to Speaker Kiran Kumar Reddy. These include 76 legislators of the ruling Congress, 40 of the opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and 14 of the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP).
These legislators allege that the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre took a "unilateral" decision on carving out a separate Telangana state without consulting them.
There are 175 members from the two regions in the 294-member Andhra Pradesh assembly, while the remaining 119 members come from the Telangana region.
The Speaker said he had not accepted their resignations and was seeking legal opinion on the issue.
The uproar over resignations stalled both houses of the state legislature, forcing their adjournment till Monday.
Chief Minister K. Rosaiah said his government was not reduced to a minority as the resignations of the legislators were not yet accepted. The Congress has 156 members in the state assembly.
Giving a new twist to the row over Telangana, Rosaiah said he had not received written or oral directions from the central government to move a resolution in the assembly.
He said Home Minister P. Chidambaram had only said that the process for formation of Telangana state would be initiated and to his understanding, it implied that consultations would begin with leaders of other regions.
He appealed to legislators of all political parties not to resign in anger, pointing out that a resolution can be passed only after consensus.
The Chief Minister also appealed to people, especially youth, to show restraint and not to resort to violence.
However, the shutdown called in coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions by all parties and various groups opposed to bifurcation of the state turned violent as protesters set afire buses, a post office and attacked a bank.
Normal life was paralysed in nine coastal districts and four districts of Rayalaseema as state-owned Road Transport Corporation (RTC) buses went off the roads. Shops and business establishments remained closed.
In the coastal city of Visakhapatnam, protestors attacked a branch of the HSBC Bank while in Kadapa town of Rayalseema, a post office was set afire.
Protesters also staged road blockades on national and state highways and stopped trains at various railway stations.
The regional divide saw lawyers of Telangana and Andhra clashing in the state high court here. Tension prevailed as lawyers opposing a separate Telangana state clashed with those demanding bifurcation.
Home Secretary G K Pillai's statement that the process of formation of Telangana state would continue and that Hyderabad would be its capital of Telangana, evoked strong reaction from the ministers and legislators opposing division of the state. They termed Pillai's remarks "provocative".
Meanwhile, Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief K Chandrasekhar Rao, whose 11-day hunger strike forced the government to agree to his demand for a Telangana state, was on Friday discharged from a hospital in Hyderabad.
KCR, as he is popularly known among the people by his initials, returned to his home in Hyderabad. The TRS dropped its plans for taking out a victory rally.
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