Seven lawmakers from the ruling Indian National Congress party quit on Friday in protest at the government's decision to create a new state for an ethnic majority in the south. The decision to create Telangana for the Telugu-speaking people by splitting in two the state of Andhra Pradesh has sparked violent protests by other ethnic groups seeking autonomy.
The IANS news agency reported ethnic violence in the northeastern states of Assam and West Bengal. There were also protests against the decision in Andhra Pradesh. The Congress party and the ruling federal coalition on Tuesday announced their support for Telangana. The government has said the process could take up to six months. Twenty-nine Congress lawmakers in the Andhra Pradesh assembly, including three state ministers, submitted their resignations on Thursday in protest.
They were joined by 16 ministers from the opposition Telugu Desam Party. Andhra Pradesh is governed by the Congress party. Bus services, shops, schools and colleges were closed in Andhra Prasesh as protesters formed human chains, burnt effigies of Congress party leaders and blocked road and rail traffic. Some buses were torched. Arson attack were reported in West Bengal's Darjeeling district, where the Nepali-speaking Gorkha people want a federal state. Protesters set fire to a government building, the broadcaster NDTV reported. In Assam, protesters blockaded train tracks for 12 hours to demand creation of a federal state for Bodo tribes.