Shutdown in Seemandhra over Telangana hits life

Five central ministers submitted their resignations while Union Human Resource Development Minister M.M. Pallam Raju Friday said he has decided to resign.



"It is a very sad day for Andhra Pradesh. I am hurt and aggrieved at the way the decision has been rushed to bifurcate the state," Pallam Raju said in New Delhi.

Minister of Textiles K.S. Rao, Ministers of State K. Chiranjeevi and Kotla Suryaprakash Reddy also announced their resignations Thursday night.

D. Purandeswari and K. Krupa Rani Friday said they too were resigning. They faxed their resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Four Congress MPs - V. Arun Kumar, Ananta Venkatarami Reddy, A. Sai Pratap and Sabbam Hari - resigned Thursday while two more MPs - K. Bapi Raju and R. Sambasiva Rao - announced their resignations Friday.

State Law Minister E. Pratap Reddy resigned from the cabinet and the Congress party.

YSR Congress party president Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy said he would launch an indefinite fast from Saturday.

He said he would fast in front of the YSR Congress office to demand that the central government should take back its decision.

Jagan, as the MP from Kadapa is popularly known, accused the Congress of dividing the state to earn votes in elections.

He appealed to the country to stand up against this "injustice", saying the central government would start dividing other states too in a similar "arbitrary" manner.