Seeking to mount pressure,four Union Ministers from Seemandhra region on Monday met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh requesting him to accept their resignations over Telangana creation but got no assurance. Telangana crisis: Curfew continues,no power in Coastal Andhra Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh continued to simmer with protests against the proposed bifurcation of the state as curfew remained in place in restive Vizianagaram town and large areas plunged into darkness with electricity employees on strike. HRD Minister M M Pallam Raju,Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi,Minister of State for Commerce D Purandeswari and Minister of State for Railways Surya Prakash Reddy,all Congress leaders,met Singh together to press for acceptance of their resignations. They decided not to attend office. Andhra situation because of Cong mishandling: BJP Singh said he will look into their requests. Explaining reasons for their decision to quit the government,Purandeswari said,"we need to go back to the people and tell the people how we want to solve (the issue). People are not wiling to listen to us unless we tender our resignation and go back as one of them. So as long as we continue as Ministers they are not going to listen to us." She said they presented the entire situation to the Prime Minister and requested him to accept their resignations. HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju along with Minister of State for Commerce and Industry D Purandeswari,Minister of State for Communications and IT Killi Krupa Rani,Minister of Textiles K Samba Siva Rao,Minister of State for Railways Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy,Minister of State for Petroleum Panabaka Lakshmi,and Rajya Sabha member and Minister of State for Tourism (independent charge) K Chiranjeevi had on Friday submitted their resignations,a day after the Cabinet gave the nod to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh and formation of Telangana. Pallam Raju leads resignation rush On October 3,the Union Cabinet had decided to go ahead with the process for the creation of a separate Telangana state carved out from Andhra Pradesh. Cabinet clears formation of Telangana,Hyderabad to be joint capital for 10 years Shinde appeals for healthy dialogue Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde and Finance Minister P Chidambaram also met the Prime Minister. Shinde expressed concern over protests in Seemandhra and appealed to people to create environment for healthy dialogue. "We are confident of achieving an amicable solution that gives safeguards to people of all regions in the state," he said. Pallam Raju leads resignation rush The meeting of the union ministers with the Prime Minister comes on a day when TDP Chief N Chandrababu Naidu started his indefinite fast in Delhi in protest against the split of Andhra Pradesh,accusing Congress of playing politics over Telangana issue. Related: The politics beneath 'Telangana' move The indefinite fast launched by YSR Congress president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy on Saturday last against the state bifurcation entered the third day. Andhra towns plunge into darkness Meanwhile,Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions of Andhra Pradesh on Monday continued to simmer with protests against the proposed bifurcation of the state as curfew remained in place in restive Vizianagaram town and large areas plunged into darkness with electricity employees on strike. Telangana statehood: What Andhra Pradesh minus Hyderabad means The strike has caused severe inconvenience to people in Seemandhra - as Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra are together known. There was no exemption to even emergency services like hospitals,water supply and agriculture. Full Coverage - Statehood for Telangana Roiling since the Cabinet's decision to carve out a new state of Telangana,Vizianagaram is under curfew since Saturday night following large-scale violence. Police have so far arrested 34 persons in connection with the violence and more arrests are expected to follow,DIG (Visakhapatnam Range) P Umapathi said. (With PTI inputs)
