19 TRS Legislators resign from AP Assembly, Council

Hyderabad, Mar 4 (UNI) A day after Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) President K Chandrasekhar Rao and three other MPs resigned from the Lok Sabha, 16 MLAs and three MLCs of the party resigned their membership today in protest against the 'delay' in creation of a separate Telangana state.

The MLAs and MLCs submitted their resignations to Assembly Speaker K R Suresh Reddy and Council Chairman A Chakrapani respectively to exert pressure on the Congress-led UPA Government to concede Telangana state as ''promised'' in the run-up to the 2004 general election.

However, ten dissident MLAs, who were facing threat of expulsion for voting against party whip in the election to the AP Legislative Council, did not resign.

Accusing the Congress of ''betraying the Telangana people,'' TRS Floor Leader in the Assembly K Vijayarama Rao challenged the Congress members to follow suit and seek a fresh mandate from the people.

Later appealing to the TRS members to reconsider their decision, Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy maintained that ''the statehood issue is still open. The UPA Sub-Committee headed by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee is striving to arrive at a consensus''.

''An appropriate decision will be taken at an appropriate time.

Till then, let us all work together for the all round development'', he appealed to the TRS, an estranged ally of the Congress.

Contending that the Congress was 'responsible' for every vexed issue before the country, including the demand for bifurcation of the state, TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu alleged that the Congress, had aligned with the TRS and the Communists and worked out an 'understanding' with the naxalites to come to power.

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