H'bad/N Delhi, December 24 2009: Telangana was today on the boil following a backlash in the wake of Centre backtracking on the statehood issue as 70 MLAs cutting across party lines and 11 Congress MPs resigned their seats and a bandh in the region turned violent.

Two TDP MLAs were the target of students anger in the Osmania University campus when they went to express solidarity.

Withdrawing the bandh for tomorrow in view of Christmas, the newly-constituted Telangana Joint Action Committee appealed to the Government of India and Congress President Sonia Gandhi to take immediate steps for formation of Telangana State.

The Telangana JAC, an umbrella organisation of parties like TRS, TDP, Congress and Praja Rajyam, held its first meeting today and appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to honour UPA's 'commitment' of creating Telangana State.

"We shall continue the struggle to realise our legitimate demand," TRS Chief K Chandrasekhara Rao told reporters after the JAC meeting.

Rejecting any moves for constitution of a States Reorganisation Committee to go into the Telangana State, he said there was no question of Telangana being part of the unified Andhra Pradesh.

11 Lok Sabha members of the Congress met in the morning in Andhra Bhavan in New Delhi and later faxed their resignations to Sonia Gandhi in protest against the Government putting the Telangana issue on the backburner.

They met Gandhi's Political Secretary Ahmed Patel in the evening and urged him to ensure that the government does not go back on the Telangana statehood commitment.

Among the legislators who have resigned today are 39 TDP MLAs, 25 Congress, 10 TRS and two Praja Rajyam MLAs.

Five MLCs have also put in their papers.

However, 13 Ministers of the Congress party, who hail from the region and wanted to quit, were prevailed over by Chief Minister, who wanted them to help in ensuring peace in the troubled region.

Called in the wake of Home Minister P Chidambaram's last night announcement on the need for wide-ranging discussions on Telangana statehood turned violent when demonstrators indulged in arson setting private and public buses on fire and students attacked two TDP MLAs in the Osmania University campus.

The shutdown in the 10 districts of Telangana was total but it was marked by violence when State and private buses were burnt and Government offices were set on fire by angry protesters who also blocked rail and vehicular traffic.

In Hyderabad, students attacked TDP MLAs Nagam Janardhana Reddy and E Dayakar Rao who went in their cars to express their solidarity with the pro-Telangana students after giving their resignation.

But the students were not not in a mood to entertain them and instead turned on Reddy beating him up badly.

Reddy collapsed and fell unconscious and was taken to hospital on a motor cycle.

IG Anuradha Rao appealed to 'outsiders' not to enter the University where students were agitated and may not not be in a position to distinguish between 'good and bad' elements.

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