Hyderabad:
Andhra Pradesh Assembly Speaker Kiran Kumar Reddy on Sunday presided over a House where almost half the MLAs, all from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, have resigned.
One of the options before the government now is to adjourn the House sine die on Monday. The winter session was originally to continue till December 23.
Sources in the government and the Speaker's office tell us that with emotions running high and the MLAs polarised along regional lines, they are worried that an UP Assembly kind of mayhem could erupt in this Assembly as well.
However, not all MLAs think it will help defuse the crisis.
"If the Assembly is adjourned sine die and the scene shifts to the constituencies, there is a greater likelihood that the legislators would get involved in these very passionate agitations and violence," said Jayaprakash Narayan, MLA and president, Loksatta.
The state Congress chief has requested his MLAs not to precipitate a constitutional crisis.
"I am appealing to them to withdraw their resignations. And while I talk about MLAs, why do you talk about ministers plan to resign. No minister will resign," said D.Srinivas, Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee president.
Srinivas's appeal is unlikely to work. Chiranjeevi says just like the Congress MLAs, 16 of his Praja Rajyam Party MLAs resigned because they were under tremendous pressure.
"That's because of the pressure they got from their respective constituencies. They were forced to quit," said Chiranjeevi, president, Praja Rajyam Party.
Back channel talks are now on to somehow bridge the divide between the Telangana and the Rayalaseema-Coastal Andhra politicians, with everyone told not to make any provocative statements.