At least 20 ministers threatened to resign in India's Andhra Pradesh Saturday as protests snowballed over a proposal to carve out a new state called Telengana. India's federal government agreed in principle Wednesday to the formation of a separate state for the Telangana region after student protests and a hunger strike by K Chandrasekhar Rao, leader of a regional political party that has been spearheading the drive for the new state.
But a backlash in the two other regions of Andhra Pradesh - the coastal area and southern Rayalseema - has put the federal government in a difficult position. As protesters held rallies and blocked roads, the state-run bus service suspended operations in several areas, stranding thousands of passengers, PTI news agency reported.
Schools, colleges, shops and businesses remained closed in the coastal and Rayalseema regions. The pro-Telengana campaigners claim their area had suffered economically at the expense of the other two regions. The 20 ministers who said they would be submitting their resignations to Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister K Rosaiah represent coastal constituencies.
A group 128 lawmakers, belonging to different parties but from the non-Telengana regions, have already resigned and further resignations could lead to a fall of the state's Congress Party government. The Andhra Pradesh chief minister said no final decision had been taken yet on the separate state, demands for which date back 50 years.
Telangana movement leader Rao, recovering from his 11-day fast, said in an interview with NDTV news channel that he was confident the government would not change its mind on the formation of Telengana. Developments surrounding Telengana have led to a spate of demands across India from other regional groups seeking separate states.