Telangana statehood issue: Suspended Andhra Pradesh MPs stage 'silent' dharna

NEW DELHI: Continuing their agitation, suspended Congress MPs from Andhra Pradesh today staged a dharna in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue inside the Parliament complex demanding separate statehood for Telangana.

The Lok Sabha had yesterday suspended eight Congress MPs from Telangana region for four days for repeatedly disrupting Parliament over the Telangana issue.

Action was taken against Ponnam Prabhakar, Madhu Yaskhi Goud, M Jagannath, K R G Reddy, G Viveknanda, Balram Naik, Sukender Reddy Gutha and S Rajaiah after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal moved a motion seeking their suspension.

With black ribbon taped on their lips, the suspended MPs, carrying placards in support of separate Telangana state, stood near the Gandhi statue for about 30 minutes.

Earlier, BJD MPs had also staged a dharna here to extend solidarity with party MLA, Jhina Hikaka, who was abducted by Maoists on March 24.