The Congress Party received a major jolt, as six of its MPs from Andhra Pradesh submitted their resignation to the Lok Sabha Speaker, protesting against the creation of a separate Telangana state. One Rajya Sabha MP too resigned. Four Union Ministers will submit their resignation tomorrow.

The Congress-led UPA Government plunged into a deep crisis following the latest development. Many other MLAs of the Congress and TDP have either resigned or will resign in a day or two to put pressure on the government not to carve out a separate Telangana. The MPs, who resigned, included A Sai Prathap (Rajampet), Anantha Venkatarami Reddy (Anantapur), C V Harsha Kumar (Amalapuram-SC), Vundavalli Arun Kumar (Rajahmundry), Lagadapati Rajagopal (Vijayawada) and SPY Reddy (Nandyal). Another Rajya Sabha MP KVP Ramachandra Rao also put in his papers.

Three more Lok Sabha MPs – Sabbam Hari (Anakapalli), Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy (Ongole) and Rayapati Sambasiva Rao (Guntur) have reportedly faxed their resignations. However, Union Ministers Pallam Raju, Chiranjeevi and KC Deo are not willing to quit over the issue and extended their support to Sonia Gandhi. 14 TDP MLAs have already resigned over Telangana.