Anti-Telangana protests in Vijayawada
The government is grappling with aggressive whiplash over last evening's decision to proceed with the creation of a Telangana state.
Here are the latest 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. (Live updates) | (Protest Pics)
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.
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.
Union minister Chiranjeevi has resigned in protest over the green-light for a Telangana state; another, Pallam Raju, says he will quit today. (Union minister Pallam Raju to resign over Telangana decision)
All major routes leading to Tirupati and the famous Tirumala temple have been barricaded by protesters. In Vijayawada, power supply has been critically hit as six of seven units of the Vijayawada Thermal Power Station are not working with employees participating in protests.
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.
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.
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. (Telangana state cleared, Hyderabad shared capital)
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