Kiran Reddy to resign if Parliament takes up Telangana bill, say ministers

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy will resign immediately after the Telangana bill is taken up for debate in Parliament, cabinet ministers loyal to him said on Sunday.

Kiran Reddy, who is opposed to state’s division, will also float a new political party, said E Pratap Reddy, one of the state ministers from Seemandhra who met him.

With the central government intensifying efforts to get the Telangana bill passed in parliament, the chief minister held a meeting with ministers and legislators from Seemandhra to chalk out their future course of action.

Pratap Reddy said the chief minister did not resign as the Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed that the bill was not tabled in parliament.

Another minister, S Sailajanath, said that Kiran Reddy will quit if the Telangana bill comes up for debate. Alleging that the central government is acting with a bias on the issue of bifurcation, he said the attack on state MPs in parliament was a proof of the bias.

Four ministers were among 21 legislators who participated in the meeting with the chief minister.

The central government had Thursday tabled Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Bill 2013 in Lok Sabha amid unprecedented ruckus. A MP from Seemandhra used pepper spray and there was also a scuffle between lawmakers from Telangana and Seemandhra.

The incidents led to suspension of 16 MPs by the speaker for the rest of the session.

IANS