Goud, sent his resignation letter to the party president N. Chandrababu Naidu.
A member of the party's politburo, Goud was considered as Number Two in the party hierarchy and is a strong supporter of the Telangana statehood cause.
A backward class leader from Ranga Reddy District, Goud has, off late, emerged a rallying point for protagonists of separate Telangana state within the TDP.
He had been pressurising the leadership for an early decision on the demand for a separate Telangana state.
Goud's resignation came as a jolt to TDP which has traditionally opposed division of the State. The TDP leadership dismissed Goud`s resignation as an "act of deceit", saying his decision would not have any impact on the party.
In his resignation letter addressed to Naidu, Goud said, "As a son of Telangana, I will strive for achieving the statehood goal. I will dedicate my life for the cause of Telangana people."
He sent a separate letter to the Assembly Speaker K R Suresh Reddy resigning from the assembly membership.
TDP had recently constituted a five-member committee to go into the statehood issue and take feedback from the cadres. Goud is also a member of the committee.
Goud's move came in the backdrop of Chandrababu Naidu's warning to party leaders not to air their differences over the Telangana issue in public. (ANI)
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