Unhappy over the delay in the formation of a separate Telangana state, a minister in Andhra Pradesh Cabinet on Thursday sent his resignation to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. Other ministers and MPs from the region said they would decide on whether to quit after meeting the central leadership.
Minister for endowments J. Krishna Rao resigned a day after party MP Kavuri Sambasiva Rao challenged party leaders from Telangana to quit if they were sincere in their commitment for a separate state.
Krishna Rao urged Congress president to immediately take steps for carving out a Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh, said sources in the party.
Other ministers from Telangana like K. Venkat Reddy and Basvaraj Saraiah said they would take a decision about resignations after meeting the central leadership to demand a bill in parliament for formation of Telangana state.
A meeting of Congress MPs from Telangana was on in Delhi to take a decision on resignations. Immediately after Sambasiva Rao's challenge on Wednesday, MP from Nalgonda G. Sukhender Reddy had said he was ready to quit.
Sambasiva Rao's remarks triggered war of words between the party leaders from Telangana and Andhra regions. The MP made the remarks after a group of Telangana lawyers staged a sit-in outside his house in Hyderabad, protesting the proposed meeting of leaders from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions to oppose the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.