In a new twist to the saga over providing special status for Andhra Pradesh, five MPs of the YSR Congress on Friday resigned from the Lok Sabha. The party has announced its MPs would go on an indefinite hunger strike in New Delhi.
We do as we say! YSRCP MPs are submitting their resignations today. I challenge @ncbn to make TDP MPs resign and stand united with the people of AP in their rightful demand of special category status for Andhra Pradesh.
— YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (@ysjagan) April 6, 2018
V. Vara Prasada Rao, Y.V. Subba Reddy, P.V. Midhun Reddy, Y.S. Avinash Reddy and Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy submitted their resignations to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. The YSRCP has a total of nine MPs in the Lok Sabha.
The party had announced on Thursday that its MPs would be resigning as the Centre had failed to act on their demands and the speaker had not admitted their no-confidence motion.
YSRCP MPs will go on an indefinite hunger strike at AP Bhawan, Delhi while we will observe relay hunger strikes across the state. We continue to stand in solidarity with the people of AP in their fight for Special Category Status!
— YS Jagan Mohan Reddy (@ysjagan) April 6, 2018
Party chief Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy tweeted that the TDP should also ask its MPs to resign and 'unite' with the people of Andhra Pradesh in their struggle for special status. Jagan also tweeted his MPs would go on an indefinite hunger strike outside Andhra Bhawan in the national capital, while other party members would go on a 'relay' hunger strike in Andhra Pradesh.
The YSRCP was the first to announce plans to move a no-confidence motion in mid-February, when it called on Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu to quit the NDA. The 'competitive' posturing in Parliament points to the tussle for supremacy in Andhra Pradesh between the TDP and YSRCP.
Naidu said on Thursday the YSRCP was colluding with the BJP by not participating with the TDP in its protests in Parliament. The TDP has long suspected that the BJP has been wooing the YSRCP.
(With agency inputs)