AP Infrastructure minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy may boast of championing the Telangana cause by resigning from the Cabinet, but the real reason is something different, say the people who are at the helm of the affairs.

The Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan on Wednesday accepted the resignation of infrastructure minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy. A Raj Bhavan communique issued on Wednesday evening stated that the Governor had accepted the resignation of Mr Venkat Reddy, and the portfolio of infrastructure, ports and airports held by him will be looked after by the Chief Minister.

As being publicised by the minister that he has resigned in favour of formation of a separate Telangana seems a feeble claim in the light of the fact that other ministers from the region are not yet decided about relinquishing their posts. Their indecision also has a reason - the acceptance of Mr Venkat Reddy's resignation is a clear warning to other Telangana ministers. So far only two resignations have been accepted out of the 16 resignations submitted by ministers from the T region. By accepting ministers Jupally Krishna Rao and Komatireddy Venkat Reddy' resignations, it has been made clear that the resignations of ministers are being accepted unlike the resignations from membership of the Assembly, which are being kept on hold. This will certainly make the ministers to think twice before resigning.

Moreover, Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, AICC general secretary in charge of AP affairs has said that "Mr Venkat Reddy is trying to give a colour that he has resigned for the Telangana cause, which is not correct. As far as my information goes, Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy took objection to the rude behaviour of Mr Venkat Reddy, who created a scene in the Hyderabad RTA office, so he might have got peeved over that and resigned."

However, Mr. Komatireddy denied it and said "It is a blatant lie. I announced my intention to resign in August. My resignation has nothing to do with the RTA incident. Mr Azad is trying to deceive the people of Telangana."