The ruling Congress is bracing for large-scale rebellion after the cabinet on Thursday cleared major steps for carving out a separate Telangana state from Andhra Pradesh. One minister, Chiranjeevi, has quit. Others have offered to resign. Bandh has been called in the 13 districts of the Seemandhra region as protests intensify.br br Soon after the cabinet approved a plan to create Telangana, India's 29th state, Seemandhra - as the coastal and Rayalaseema regions of the state are known - erupted in protest. Schools and colleges in the region are closed. National highways are being blocked and public transport is off the roads. Buses coming into and going out of the state have also been hit.