The YSR Congress party’s five MPs in the Lok Sabha on Friday submitted their resignations to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, ANI reported. They said they quit their positions in protest against the Centre’s failure to provide special category status to Andhra Pradesh.

The five MPs are V Vara Prasada Rao, YV Subba Reddy, PV Midhun Reddy, YS Avinash Reddy, and Mekapati Rajamohan Reddy.

Immediately after the five MPs submitted their resignations, YSR Congress chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy challenged Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, asking him to order the Telugu Desam Party’s lawmakers in Parliament to resign. Reddy said that the former MPs would sit on an indefinite hunger strike at the Andhra Pradesh Bhavan in New Delhi, while the party’s leaders and activists would hold relay hunger strikes across the state.

Meanwhile, Telugu Desam Party lawmakers staged a protest in Sumitra Mahajan’s chambers. The protest came moments after the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha were adjourned indefinitely within minutes on the last day of the Budget Session. The YSR Congress and the Telugu Desam Party have been protesting over this demand throughout the session, which was marred by protests 22 straight days.

The five YSR Congress Party legislators on Thursday accused Mahajan using various pretexts to not admit the no-confidence notice against the government, The News Minute reported. The YSR Congress Party has submitted at least 12 notices, calling for discussions on a no-trust motion against the government. They also criticised Chandrababu Naidu for failing to secure the special status for the state despite being in the ruling National Democratic Alliance at the Centre for four years.