Hyderabad, Nov. 22: Andhra Pradesh chief minister K. Rosaiah appeared high-strung as protests over the Sakshi channel telecasts continued today, angrily asking a Congress loyalist who came to him with a complaint whether he should step down.

Rosaiah had just landed at Sathya Sai airport in Puttaparthi — where the Prime Minister was expected for a convocation at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning — when a supporter complained that security personnel had blocked him from going to the tarmac to receive the chief minister.

“Since the Prime Minister is coming to the area, giving permission for anything is not in my hands. What can I do? Should I resign?” Rosaiah snapped, much to the surprise of supporters accompanying him.

The chief minister, who had earlier been heckled by loyalists of rebel Kadapa MP Jaganmohan Reddy, is due to go to Delhi tomorrow to apprise the Congress leadership of the Sakshi row, sources said. The channel, owned by Jaganmohan, had on Friday telecast a programme making uncharitable remarks about Sonia Gandhi and the Prime Minister.

The channel today twice beamed a censored version of the same programme, Hasta Gatham, which had claimed Manmohan Singh was a “rubber stamp” Prime Minister and all the power was in Sonia’s hands.

Sakshi sources said the channel had lined up two more programmes critical of the Congress Big Two as well as the chief minister for telecast at an appropriate time. “We aired this programme after waiting for three months. All depends on how the high command will act against Jaganmohan Reddy in the coming days,” a source said.

Jaganmohan has been rebelling against the Congress leadership ever since he was denied the chief minister’s crown after the death of his father, Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy.

“Jaganmohan is weighing the pros and cons of quitting the Congress. A lot will depend on what happens when Rosaiah meets Veerappa Moily in Delhi tomorrow,” a source said.