Andhra Pradesh Minister for Endowments Jupally Krishna Rao, who belongs to the Telangana region, announced on Thursday his decision to resign from the Cabinet in support of the cause for a separate State.

Mr. Jupally Krishna Rao faxed his resignation letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi from his office in the Secretariat and later called on Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy in the Assembly premises and handed him a copy of it. He said his resignation could be forwarded to the Governor for acceptance if a Bill on the creation of Telangana was not introduced in the current session of Parliament.

Talking to reporters after meeting the Chief Minister, he maintained that his letter was in a format that could be accepted by the Governor. Asked why he did not send it directly to the Governor, the Minister said it was Ms. Sonia Gandhi who gave him the Congress party ticket and it was his bounden duty to inform her first.

The Minister, although not considered a heavyweight either in the Congress party or in the Cabinet, has been active in lobbying for a separate Telangana State. He said when every section of society in Telangana, including MLAs from all political parties, was agitating, it was not proper for Ministers to remain silent spectators.

Describing his action as a sacrifice, Mr. Krishna Rao said it was aimed at bringing pressure on the Congress high command to concede the separate Telangana demand at the earliest. He clarified that he was not resigning his Assembly seat.

Published Date : Friday, 4/3/2011 2:08 PM IST