Telangana Bill: Chiranjeevi protests against approval, resigns

Protesting against the Cabinet approval of Telangana bill, Union Tourism Minister K Chiranjeevi sent his resignation letter to All India Congress Committee chief Sonia Gandhi.

In the letter, the actor turned politician requested Sonia to urge Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to accept his resignation which was submitted in October.

"I am pained with the sequence of events in the process of bifurcation of the state of Andhra Pradesh. I am also hurt that the Seemandhra people's views have not been reflected nor have their aspirations being met with the recent Cabinet resolution," he said in a letter to Gandhi.

He said it was extremely difficult for him to discharge his ministerial duties with such "a heavy heart and a burdened conscience".

"Since I have already tendered my resignation to the Hon'ble Prime Minister on October 4, 2013, I request you, as Chairperson of UPA, to kindly have my resignation accepted at the earliest with immediate effect.

On the other hand, many leaders are questioning Chiranjeevi's act of sending the letter to Sonia instead of President Pranab Mukherjee.