Andhra special status row: YSR Cong MPs to quit after budget session
Amaravati: YSR Congress on Monday said its MPs would resign whenever the budget session of Parliament was adjourned sine die without the Centre accepting its demand for granting special category status to Andhra Pradesh.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by party president YS Jaganmohan Reddy in Guntur district, YSRC Parliamentary Party leader Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy told reporters.
"Our president has directed us to submit the resignations immediately after the Parliament is adjourned sine die (without conceding the party's demand), whenever it would be and we need not wait for the April 6 deadline as specified earlier," he said.
Jaganmohan Reddy, whose party has nine MPs, had already announced in February that his party parliamentarians would quit on April 6, at the end of the budget session, if the special category status was not granted.
The decision on Monday was taken in wake of the rapidly changing political developments and the possibility of the Parliament session being cut short, Rajamohan Reddy added.
The opposition party, which has been stepping up pressure on the issue and had moved a notice for no confidence motion in Lok Sabha, also wanted the ruling Telugu Desam MPs to resign over the matter.
Earlier, addressing the MPs, the YSRC chief said there need not be any prejudice in the fight for special category status.
"We have been honest and sincere on the issue from announcing the resignation to the no-confidence motion and have placed them before the people. Our main aim is to highlight our efforts and mount pressure on the Centre to implement the assurances given in the House," he said.
Jagmohan Reddy also said TDP supremo and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu too had to "toe our line as he had no other go", party leaders quoted him as having said.
He was apparently referring to TDP also moving a notice for no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government after quitting the NDA over the special category issue.
