Chiru urges Sonia, PM to accept resignation

• Says no point in continuing as Minister
• Lagadapati says Seemandhra MPs are prepared to resign
• Will meet President and withdraw support to UPA Govt

New Delhi: A day after the Union Cabinet approved the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and creation of Telangana, Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi on Friday addressed letters to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and urged them to accept the resignation he had submitted on October 4.

In his letter to Sonia Gandhi, Chiranjeevi is understood to have conveyed to her that after the Union Cabinet decision on October 3, he had sent in his resignation. Now that the Union Cabinet has since cleared the Telangana Bill on December 6, there was no point in his continuing in his post and that his resignation should forthwith be accepted.

Chiranjeevi is understood to have conveyed his sense of helplessness to Sonia Gandhi, as the Centre has proceeded in the matter without conceding even simple requests made by the Union Ministers from Seemandhra.

Earlier, Congress MP Lagadapati Rajagapal claimed that the Seemandhra Congress MPs have decided to withdraw support to the Congress-led UPA Government. He said a formal letter of withdrawal of support would be sent to President Pranab Mukherjee and when he returnsfrom his tour of West Bengal, the Seemandhra Congress MPs would meet him to personally convey their decision to him. Rajgopal told mediapersons, “The UPA should not be in power after dividing the Telugu people. As many as four Central Ministers and 7 Seemandhra Congress MPs are ready to resign. We will write to the President, informing him of our withdrawing support to the Congress- led UPA Government at the Centre.”