3 ministers, 50 MLAs from Seemandhra resign

Three ministers and more than 50 legislators from Rayalaseema and Andhra regions of Andhra Pradesh Thursday submitted their resignations to protest the Congress' decision to carve out Telangana state.

Four ministers announced their resignations late Thursday night after a meeting with Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy. Minister for Infrastructure G. Srinivasa Rao told reporters that he along with T.G. Venkatesh and E. Pratap Reddy submitted their resignations to the chief minister.

Earlier in the day, as many as 15 ministers from Seemandhra (Rayalaseema and Andhra) had decided to quit but they later backed out after the central leaders of Congress party persuaded them.

Two central emissaries of Congress party and state Congress chief Botsa Satyanarayana attended the meeting, which lasted for four hours.

The number of Congress legislators who submitted their resignations rose to 25 late Thursday night while 16 legislators of the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) also announced their resignations.

While some legislators submitted their resignation letters to the legislature secretary in Hyderabad, other faxed their resignations to the speaker's office from their respective constituencies.