Protesters burn tyres on Bandar Road in Vijayawada.
The government is grappling with aggressive whiplash over last evening's decision to proceed with the creation of a Telangana state. Three Union ministers have sent their resignation letters to the PM, and there were huge protests today in parts of Andhra Pradesh.
Here are 10 big developments in the story:
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 for the next 48 hours.
Vijayawada and Guntur were among the areas in Seemandhra that saw power cuts today after employees at the main power station joined the strike. (Read)
Three Union ministers - Chiranjeevi, Pallam Raju and Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy - have sent their resignation letters to the Prime Minister, who has not yet accepted them. All three ministers are from Seemandhra.
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 last evening. 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.
Jagan Mohan Reddy, chief of the YSR Congress which has been fighting the plans to split the state, has said that he will begin an indefinite fast from tomorrow. "Is it justifiable to split the state without an assembly resolution? What kind of democracy are we living in when people intentionally choose to ignore the assembly?" he said.
Congress MP L Rajagopal, who is from Vijayawada, has said he will move the Supreme Court challenging the government's decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh, reports the Press Trust of India.
All major roads to the famous temple in Tirupati were blocked today by protesters; 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. (Read: Telangana state cleared, Hyderabad shared capital)
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