Several ministers resign: Can the Congress manage Andhra issue?

, Oct 5: Five more central ministers announced their resignations on Friday to protest against the Cabinet's nod to the bifurcation of

and formation of

.

Protests and shutdown also rocked the Seemandhra region during the day. It was the first day of the 48-hour strike called in Seemandhra against the move to form Telangana and stray incidents of violence were reported.

Among those who resigned to protest the move are HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju and Kotla Surya Prakash Reddy, Minister of State for Railways. Both were reportedly advised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to quit but they did not pay heed. Raju said the decision to split Andhra Pradesh will harm the long-term interests of the state.

Can the Congress prevent the crisis from heading to a point of no re

Other ministers who resigned over Telangana are K Chiranjeevi (Tourism), K Sambasiva Rao (Textiles), D Purandeswari (MoS Commerce) and Killi Kruparani (MoS IT and Communications).

Besides, Andhra Pradesh law minister Erasu Pratap Reddy also submitted his resignation. He had earlier offered his resignation with dozens of other ministers after the Congress Working Committee approved the decision to bifurcate Andhra Pradesh. State Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy asked them not to resign and out up a united front.

Besides, the Congress MPs who had resigned from the Lok Sabha on Telangana issue earlier, have now threatened to quit the party. Those upset members of the party accused the Congress of doing injustice to the Telugu people and even praised BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

Will the Congress be able to prevent the crisis from heading to a point of no return?

OneIndia News