Somarapu Backs Off On Resignation

Ramagundem MLA Somarapu Satyanarayana on Wednesday requested Speaker Nadendla Manohar not to accept his resignation that he had submitted for the cause of Telangana.

Talking to reporters after meeting the Speaker at the State Legislative Assembly, Somarapu said that he has asked Nadendla Manohar not to accept his resignation that he had submitted on 4 October for the cause of a Telangana state.

Somarapu said that he had submitted the resignation following the advice of people in his constituency.

However, Somarapu said that his supporters have now asked him to continue in his post as the resignations by elected representatives for the cause of statehood have failed to move the Centre on the issue.

Therefore, he said, instead of resigning as MLA, he has withdrawn his support to the Congress government.

Since Somarapu was elected as an independent and was only an associate member of the Congress party in the Assembly, the Anti-Defection Law that leads to disqualification does not apply to him.

Somarapu was with the Telugu Desam Party and worked as municipal chairman for Ramagundam. However, during the 2009 elections he was denied a ticket, and this led him to contest as an independent.

He got elected and later joined the Congress in the presence of the then chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, continuing as an associate member of the Congress.

On 30 October, he joined the Telangana Rashtra Samithi along with 2 other Congress MLAs - Jupally Krishna Rao and T Rajaiah.

The Ramagundem MLA said that if the Speaker accepts his resignation, he would consider it a conspiracy of the ruling party. He also objected to the Speaker summoning him "very early" although the resignation of MLAs from TDP, TRS and Congress party was still pending before him.

However, he said that he would abide by the Speaker's decision.

Meanwhile, Station Ghanapur Congress MLA T Rajaiah, too, appeared before the Speaker on Wednesday, requesting him to accept his resignation.

After coming out of the Speaker's chamber, Rajaiah said that he appealed to the Speaker to accept his resignation submitted for the cause of Telangana statehood.

He also added that if the Speaker does not accept his resignation, he will raise the Telangana issue in the ensuing session of the Legislative Assembly scheduled to begin on 1 December. (INN)