Anti-Telangana protesters block the road in Ananthapuram on Friday
As the government grapples with aggressive whiplash over Union Cabinet's decision on Thursday to proceed with the creation of Telangana state, the Prime Minister will today take a call on the resignations of three Union ministers who quit office over the decision. All three ministers, K Chiranjeevi, Pallam Raju and Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy, are from the Seemandhra region of Andhra Pradesh which has witnessed huge protests since two days.
Here are the 10 big developments in this story:
While Tourism Minister Chiranjeevi faxed his resignation to the Prime Minister on Thursday evening, HRD Minister Pallam Raju met the Prime Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi yesterday and offered to quit. Mr Reddy, the junior minister for Railways, too submitted his resignation yesterday. The PM told both the leaders not to take any step in haste.
These central ministers say they are deeply offended by the cabinet's decision. But in some relief for the Congress, its state legislators and ministers in the Andhra Pradesh government have decided not to quit office. Instead, they say they will defeat the resolution to create a new Telangana state that was cleared by the Union Cabinet. The assembly has 294 seats, with 118 for Telangana legislators, and 175 for Seemandhra.
That resolution will be sent to the country's President who will then refer it to the state legislature.
The Centre has already made it clear that the state assembly's feedback will not be binding.
Telangana is one of the three regions of Andhra Pradesh. The other two - the 13 districts of "Seemandhra" as the Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra regions are jointly called - are in total shutdown with shops, schools and offices closed since yesterday following the 48-hour strike called by anti-Telangana protesters. National Highway 5, which connects Chennai to Kolkata, has been blocked at various places in Andhra Pradesh. (Track live updates)
Power outages continue in Vijayawada and Guntur as six of the seven units of the power station in Vijayawada were shut today morning after employees at the main power station joined the strike. Private hospitals are also shut and security has been tightened at residences of Congress MPs and MLAs.
Jagan Mohan Reddy, chief of the YSR Congress which has been fighting the plans to split the state, began his indefinite fast in Hyderabad from today. (Read) Without naming Congress president Sonia Gandhi, the 40-year-old leader told NDTV, "Someone wanted their son to become PM and divided the state."
Telugu Desam Party (TDP) chief N Chandrababu Naidu said on Friday that he would launch an indefinite hunger strike in New Delhi from October 7 against the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. "Congress has ruined the country and Andhra Pradesh. It has sought to bifurcate the state without addressing the concerns of Telugu people. Hence, I will go on an indefinite fast to expose Congress," he said. (Read)
Due to the protests yesterday, all major roads to the famous temple in Tirupati were blocked; devotees had to complete their journey by foot.
Hyderabad will start out as a shared capital for 10 years, after which it will belong to Telangana. Who gets to keep the prosperous IT hub has been a major headline of the controversial decision.
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