Minister for Excise and Sports Srinivas Goud landed in a controversy by firing a loaded police gun in the air at a freedom rally in Mahabubnagar town on Saturday.
A purported video of the incident was widely shared on the social media.
As part of the Swatantra Bharatha Vajrotsavala celebrations, the minister launched a huge freedom rally from Zilla Parishad to Clock Tower in the town. At the time of launching the rally, Goud took the rifle from a police constable and fired a bullet in the air.
The participants were caught unaware, and some of them also panicked when he took the rifle from the policeman and fired the bullet.
Within minutes, the vidoe of the minister opening fire in the air went viral, and netizens started questioning how the police could allow the minister to open fire especially when he was surrounded by a huge crowd.
They also asked if the police would book the minister under the Arms act.
However, responding to the controversy, Goud said that he had fired only a rubber bullet, and that some people were unnecessarily propagating misinformation about the incident.
He said that if anyone would prove that he had fired a real bullet, he was ready to tender his resignation as minister.
The minister also said that as a sports minister and as a member of the All-India Rifle Association, he could use a weapon.
He asked the people who were "misreporting" the incident to reach out to the district Superintendent of Police to get their facts correct, and also urged them to desist from spreading misinformation without verifying the facts.