The Centre's decision to carve out a separate state of Telangana today created ripples in political parties in Andhra Pradesh with as many as 60 legislators and three MLCs from the Congress, TDP and Praja Rajya Party submitting their resignation to the Speaker.
All the MLAs who submitted resignations belong to coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of the State.
However, the Assembly speaker is yet to accept their resignations.
The Congress has 158 out of the 294 seats in the Assembly with just 10 seats majority.
The MLAs have strongly decried the Congress high command's "unilateral decision" to initiate the process for bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh.
"This decision is very painful for us. Lakhs of poeple from other regions of the state have come to Hyderabad in search of livelihood. What would be their fate if the state is split," P Venkatramaya, a Congress legislator from Krishna district, said in the Assembly.
Telugu Desam MLA P Raghunatha Reddy said they resigned from their posts as the Congress took a unilateral decision to move a motion in the state assembly for the formation of Telangana State.
