The month-old government of Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy plunged into a crisis as all 16 ministers from Telangana demanded that the government withdraw all police cases filed against students involved in pro-Telangana agitations since last December. Of the 38 ministers in Kiran Kumars Cabinet,16 are from Telangana. On Monday when Telangana MPs,who are sitting on an indefinite fast demanding that the state government withdraw all police cases filed against students,rejected appeals from ministers to end their fast,Telangana ministers got together and met the Chief Minister to demand that the government immediately announce withdrawal of cases. The ministers are under pressure and are facing the heat from their supporters. The CM deputed four ministers Panchayati Raj Minister K Jana Reddy,Home Minister P Sabita Reddy,Backward Classes Welfare Minister B Saraiah and Civil Supplies Minister D Sridhar Babu to appeal to the fasting MPs to give up as the government has decided to withdraw 135 more cases in addition to the 565 cases already withdrawn earlier. The CM sent a message that the remaining cases were under review and would be withdrawn in a phased manner. The eight fasting MPs,led by Rajya Sabha MP K Keshava Rao,dismissed the ministers and told them that their indefinite hunger strike would end only when the state government withdraws all the cases unconditionally. The Telangana ministers decided to approach the CM with their demand. The CM is learnt to have told them to wait till Tuesday and promised to take a decision after holding a Cabinet meeting. We will give our resignation to Sonia Gandhi to pursue our demand for introduction of a Bill in Parliament for the formation of separate Telangana, Keshava Rao said. The MPs tough posture stole the thunder from K Chandrasekhara Rao of Telangana Rashtra Samiti who began a tour of Telangana even as the Justice Srikrishna Committee prepares to submit its report on Telangana,either on Tuesday or Wednesday. The MPs took pains to reiterate that they were loyal Congressmen. We are loyal soldiers of Sonia Gandhi, Keshava Rao said. They also demanded that the Central paramilitary forces deployed at the request of the state government be withdrawn.
