IANS

Hyderabad, Dec 10: A day after the central government agreed to the formation of a separate Telangana state, Andhra Pradesh plunged into political chaos with at least 73 legislators and several MPs from other regions of the state resigning or threatening to quit to protest the "unilateral" decision to divide the state.

As many as 45 legislators of the ruling Congress, 17 of the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and 11 of the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) have reportedly quit or offered to resign.

Two MPs of the Congress party have resigned - L. Rajagopal from Vijayawada Lok Sabha constituency in coastal Andhra was the first to send his resignation to the speaker. Another MP R. Sambasiva Rao has also resigned.

At least two other Congress MPs have also offered to quit. These reports are yet to be confirmed.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has called an emergency meeting of party MPs from Andhra and Rayalaseema regions in New Delhi Thursday evening, party sources said here.

Many legislators, who either resigned or offered to resign, said they did not want to support the resolution to be tabled in the assembly for formation of Telangana state.

Former minister and senior legislator J.C. Diwakar Reddy of the Congress was the first among legislators to resign.

In his letter to speaker Kiran Kumar Reddy, he said he was resigning to protest the division of the state. Diwakar Reddy hails from Rayalaseema region.

Chief Minister K. Rosaiah, however, said he had no information about the resignations.

TDP president N. Chandrabbau Naidu and PRP chief K. Chiranjeevi have called emergency meetings of their party legislators.