In what could have serious implications for the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh, a senior minister resigned Monday owning moral responsibility for a corruption scandal related to the sale of temple lands.
 
M. Satyanarayana Rao, who holds the endowments portfolio, also dragged state Congress chief K. Keshava Rao along with him. He has reportedly told Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy that he acted on Keshava Rao's behest.

The minister sent his resignation letter to the chief minister while he was holding a press conference here.

Reddy abruptly ended the press conference and went into a huddle with his close aides to take a decision on the resignation.

The resignation could mean trouble for the ruling Congress as it implicates not one but two senior leaders of the party.

An angry Keshava Rao has threatened to take up the issue with the party's central leadership.

It was on Saturday during a cabinet meeting that Satyanarayana Rao offered to resign.

The chief minister, who had already ordered an inquiry by Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and cancelled the sale of the lands, tried to pacify Rao saying his resignation would serve no purpose.

Rao, however, insisted on stepping down and went ahead with the move Monday.

The resignation is the fallout of a scam involving sale of temple lands in and around Hyderabad at throwaway prices. The endowments department had cleared the sale of nearly 246 acres of land worth Rs.1 billion for just Rs.115.2 million.

The outgoing commissioner of the endowments department I. Venkateswarlu and secretary J.P. Murthy, both Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officials, had cleared the sale despite a ban on sale of temple lands.

They claimed to have acted with the approval from the minister, who reportedly lifted the ban in one case. In two other cases, the commissioner is said to have sold the land on his own.

Venkateswarlu retired on May 31 while Murthy has taken over as home secretary.