Violent protests rocked the Telangana region of Andhra Pradesh today and legislators cut across party lines to submit resignation letters after the Centre said the situation in the state had ?altered? since its announcement of initiating the process for a Telangana state and there was now need to hold ?wide-ranging consultations? on the issue.

The Telangana Joint Action Committee, an umbrella organisation of parties like the TRS, TDP, Congress and Praja Rajyam, held a meeting on Thursday and appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to honour the UPA ?commitment? of creating the Telangana state. The JAC withdrew a bandh for tomorrow in view of Christmas.

?We shall continue the struggle to realise our legitimate demand,? TRS chief K Chandrasekhara Rao told reporters. He said there was no question of Telangana being part of a unified Andhra Pradesh and rejected any move for constitution of a State Reorganisation Commission to go into the Telangana statehood issue ? in Indore last night, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said he was in favour of setting up the Second SRC which could study the issue of creating smaller states.

Seventy MLAs, cutting across party lines, and 11 Congress MPs submitted resignation letters and a bandh in the Telangana region turned violent. The shutdown in 10 districts was total while state and private buses were burnt and government offices set on fire by angry protesters who also blocked rail and road traffic.

In Hyderabad, Osmania University students attacked TDP MLAs Nagam Janardhana Reddy and E Dayakar Rao who went to express solidarity with pro-Telangana students after handing in their resignation letters. Reddy collapsed and fell unconscious and was taken to hospital on a motorcycle.

In New Delhi, information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni sought to justify the Central government action of putting on hold the creation of a Telangana state, saying a ?one-sided? decision could not be implemented. ?Any important decision is taken with everybody?s consent, after consultations with everybody. And this is what was felt by the government over the last few days that it is not possible at times to implement a one-sided decision all of a sudden,? Soni told reporters.

But 11 Lok Sabha members of her party met in the morning in Andhra Bhawan in New Delhi and later faxed their resignation letters to Sonia Gandhi. They met Gandhi in the evening and urged her to ensure that the government does not not go back on its Telangana state commitment.

In Hyderabad, chief minister K Rosaiah persuaded 13 ministers from the region not to resign. The ministers met state Congress president D Srinivas and said there should have been a clear time frame for a separate Telangana in Union home minister P Chidambaram?s statement on Wednesday.