Health and Family Welfare Minister D L Ravindra Reddy, on Thursday, resigned from the state Cabinet, taking moral responsibility for the party's
defeat in the recently held by-elections.
Ravindra Reddy sent his resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi. In his letter, he alleged that Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy and PCC president Botsa Satyanarayana have been working against the interests of the party.
He said that if the state leadership continues with the same attitude, the Congress would be wiped out from Andhra Pradesh.
He said the CM and the district in-charge ministers who were assigned the responsibility of campaigning for the by-elections, must take moral responsibility for the party's poor performance and resign from their posts.
Meanwhile, former minister Dr. P Shankar Rao came out in support of Ravindra Reddy, and demanded that the entire state Cabinet resign following the Congress' humiliating defeat in the by-elections.
Talking to reporters at the Assembly media point, Shankar Rao alleged that the CM was supporting corrupt ministers. He said that Dalits were distancing themselves away from the Congress due to the CM's "wrong" policies.
However, AICC Secretary and MLC P Sudhakar Reddy advised Shankar Rao to refrain from making controversial statements. He said that the state Congress leaders must bury their differences in order to avoid further damage. (INN)