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The Andhra Pradesh assembly has been adjourned sine die following pandemonium over the Telangana issue.
Earlier, the Andhra Pradesh assembly was adjourned for 30 minutes soon after it began for the day's proceedings on Monday amidst slogan shouting by MLAs in favour of unified Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Soon after the house began at 0900 hrs, Speaker N Kiran Kumar Reddy took up the question hour. As the Civil Supplies Minister J Krishna Rao was replying to the first listed questions from Congress, some members rose to their feet and raised slogans in favour of a united state.
Government chief whip N Bhati Vikramaraka asked the members to take their seats while Speaker Reddy also appealed to them to let the house transact its business.
At that point, some Telugu Desam Party and Congress members also started raising slogans in favour of Telangana state. Immediately, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, the ministers belonging to all regions held a joint meeting in the assembly committee hall before the house started in a bid to find a solution to the ongoing crisis.
The meeting ended abruptly as the house proceedings began. After the house was adjourned the ministers went and met Chief Minister K Rosaiah.
Rajagopal taken into custody
Meanwhile, Congress Member of Parliament from Vijayawada L Rajagopal, who resigned his Lok Sabha seat over the Telangana issue, has been taken into preventive custody at the Hyderabad airport, ahead of his proposed fast-unto-death to protest against the creation of a separate Telangana state.
Rajagopal was detained on his arrival from New Delhi and later taken to Pahadi Sharif police station, the police said. Supporters of Rajagopal raised slogans in support of their leader and some of them were taken into custody.
The Vijayawada MP, who has resigned his Lok Sabha seat, had demanded that the police should allow him to meet Chief Minister K Rosaiah. Police said they have taken the MP into preventive custody as no permission was given to him to observe a hunger strike.
Rajagopal had on Sunday said that he would join the movement for a unified Andhra Pradesh and against the creation of a separate Telangana.