Andhra speaker accepts resignations of 12 legislators

Andhra Pradesh assembly speaker N Kirankumar Reddy on Monday accepted the resignations of 12 out of 15 legislators of the Telangana region who had quit on Sunday to protest the terms of the Srikrishna Committee looking into the demand for a separate state.

The legislators whose resignations were accepted include all 10 of the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) and one each of the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

However, the speaker has not yet taken a decision on the resignations of two legislators of the ruling Congress party and one of Praja Rajyam Party (PRP).

Hours before the budget session of the state legislature began, the speaker announced that he has accepted the resignations of 11 legislators. The decision to accept the resignation of TDP legislator Chennamaneni Ramesh's resignation was announced Sunday night.

The TRS legislators who have resigned include its floor leader E Rajender, party chief K Chandrasekhara Rao's son K Tarakarama Rao and his nephew Harish Rao.

Rejecting the terms of reference of the Srikrishna panel as anti-Telangana, the all-party Joint Action Committee (JAC) has asked all elected representatives from the region to quit by Monday evening, failing which it will launch a series of protests against them. However, so far only 15 legislators have put in their papers.

There are 119 legislators from Telangana in the 294-member state assembly.

The opinion among 50 Congress legislators is divided over the issue of resignations. All 39 legislators of the TDP have decided to send their resignations to JAC convenor M Kodandaram for submitting them to the speaker only after Congress legislators come forward to quit.