Andhra Congress legislator resigns over MP's expulsion

Rajahmundry (AP), Feb 11: Congress MLA in Rajahmundry Routhu Surya Prakash Rao tonight resigned from the party to protest the expulsion of Lok Sabha member V Arun Kumar.

Kumar, the MP from Rajahmundry, is among half a dozen Congress Lok Sabha members from Seemandhra who were today expelled by the party.

They had given notices of no-confidence motion against the Congress-led UPA government over their opposition to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh. Rao said he has faxed his resignation letter to Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee President Botsa Satyanarayana in protest against the action against Kumar.

He described Kumar as "an honest leader totally focused on the welfare of his people". The MLA from Rajahmundry (Urban) Assembly constituency in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh said he will meet Satyanarayana tomorrow morning. "I am going to Hyderabad to meet the APCC chief and hand over resignation letter personally to him," he told PTI. Asked about his political plan post-resignation, the two-term legislator said the future course of action will be decided tomorrow.

Meanwhile, there are reports that several Congress leaders and activists from his constituency, too, will quit the party tomorrow.

PTI