Suspend Min Srinivas Goud from cabinet: BJP to KCR

Hyderabad: Telangana State BJP on Sunday demanded the scalps of Minister of Prohibition and Excise Minister V Srinivas Goud, and Mahabubnagar District Superintendent of Police, R Venkateswarlu.

BJP national vice-president D K Aruna and BJP Dubbaka MLA and state secretary Raghunandan Rao demanded Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao to immediately suspend the minister from the cabinet for acting irresponsibly by firing a loaded assault open in public.

Aruna asked whether proper police administration exists in the State. She called it shameful on the part of the minister to claim that the Personal Security Officer (PSO) gun has rubber bullets. The BJP leaders asked whether the PSOs deployed for their protection are carrying guns with rubber bullets.

Aruna said that the police who are supporting the ministers' claims are insulting the policing system in the State. She demanded the State Director General of Police, M Mahendar Reddy to suspend the Mahabubnagar SP immediately as the minister claimed that he was given the gun by him.

Raghunandan Rao asked the State DGP whether he is not acting by the rule book since CM KCR offered him a post-retirement benefit like making him a special advisory. The Dubbaka MLA said that CM KCR while inaugurating the command control system assured that the services of the current DGP would be used after his retirement. "CM KCR is offering a choklets to the top cops and chief secretaries so that they would not expose the omission and commissions of his government post retirement as it is done by the officials of the similar cadre in the neighboring Andhra Pradesh."

Raising specific questions, the Dubbaka MLA said that the DGP has committed three mistakes in the incident. Firstly, the weapon used in the presence of the District SP has not been sieged. Secondly, the bullets and original cartridges are not seized and sent to the forensic lab. Thirdly, cases could be filed under Section 336 of IPC and Section 25 of the Indian Arms Act 25 against the ministers, if found erred, against the District SP. However, the DGP says that he sought a report from the SP, who was appointed at the recommendation of the district minister. "Will he send a report against the minister who got appointed in the district on the recommendation of the same minister? he asked.

The BJP leader said that different versions given on the opening of firing by the police and minister exposed that they are concocting a story to cover up what went wrong, to protect the minister and SP.

He demanded to know from the Mahabubnagar SP whether he has the authority to give a gun to any private person to fire.

He also asked whether the PSOs deployed for the protection of MLAs with assault weapons have been carrying rubber bullets, for a show of firing in the open. Raghunandan Rao said that even licensed arms usage is subjected to certain conditions, besides, they are not supposed to be displayed in the public. But, assault weapons like SLR and the others claimed by the Mahabubnagar SP have more firepower, and any mishap would have caused grave repercussions. Does the minister hold a license, is he an expert in practicing firing every day, he asked.

He said that the DGP either should impartially file cases and investigate the same. Failing the BJP would file a writ petition in the State High Court for a probe, he cautioned.