With Congress leadership reportedly inching towards a favourable decision on Telangana statehood demand, a party MLA and several YSR Congress legislators from non-Telangana regions today said they have "resigned" in support of united Andhra Pradesh.
Except YSR Congress' floor leader Y S Vijayamma, all the other 16 MLAs have "quit" their posts "individually", party sources said.
Several YSRCP MLAs, who spoke to the media, said they have quit over the reported move to divide Andhra Pradesh.
Alleging that Congress is more concerned about its political future in deciding the Telangana issue, they said Congress should first spell out its stance over the matter and consult all parties before taking any decision.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Kamalapuram in Kadapa district G Veerasiva Reddy also said he has resigned from his post and from the party.
However, with Assembly elections less than a year away, it is unlikely that the Speaker would decide on the "resignations".
Dismissing the resignations by YSRCP MLAs as political opportunism, PCC chief Botsa Satyanarayana said the Jaganmohan Reddy-led party should first announce its own stance on the Telangana issue.
The resignations may put pressure on the legislators from Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra in the event of the Centre taking a favourable decision on Telangana.
The competitive resignations are not new in Andhra Pradesh ever since the Telangana issue took the centre-stage in 2009.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is leaving for Delhi tomorrow, official sources said. Satyanarayana has already left for the national capital.
