Hyderabad 14 Aug, Hyderabad : The Telangana Minister of Prohibition and Excise V.Srinivas Goud on Sunday resisted the demand from the opposition parties to resign for firing into the air from a weapon used by a policeman at the Freedom rally.In announcing the fact that he shot only with a rubber bullet the minister claimed that opposition parties were playing cheap politics on the issue.
In a program in the city, he said that the opposition parties were trying to create a controversy despite his assertion that it was merely the result of a rubber bullet.
During the rally held in Mahbubnagar on Saturday , on the evening of Independence Day celebrations on Saturday, the minister retrieved the Self Loading Rifle (SLR) from his security guard and fired the gun in the air to begin the rally.
The clip of ministers firing his gun into the air became all over social media.
Responding to criticisms from different sources, Srinivas Goud had clarified late on Saturday night that he fired only the bullet with a rubber.”Being a minister of sports I fired using an rubber bullet, and I have a permit to operate firearms,” he said.
Opposition BJP and Congress have demanded Chief Minister K.Chandrasekhar Rao to dismiss the minister for breaking the law of the land by firing fire from a weapon of service of policemen.
They also demanded the registration of an action against the minister under the Arms Act and a thorough investigation into the incident.
On Sunday BJP MLA Raghunandan Rao demanded that the minister be arrested for infractions to the law.
He was astonished by the minister’s assertion of the fact that he shot the rubber bullet.
“The minister was given security due to threats to his own life.
If he declares that it was a rubber bullet then MLAs must consider their safety,” he said.
The MLA requested that the Director General of Police (DGP) clarify whether the bullet was made of rubber or a real one.
The BJP leader also requested an investigation by a judge to investigate the incident.
ms/pgh
