Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy is under pressure from the IAS officers to take action against minister for minor irrigation T G Venkatesh, who called upon the people to shoot the non-performing bureaucrats dead.

Representatives of the IAS officers’ association met the Chief Minister in the State secretariat and expressed their resentment against the remarks made by Venkatesh. They pointed out that the minister continued to defend his statements openly, instead of apologizing for the same. They demanded that the minister be either sacked from the cabinet or made to tender a public apology.

The Chief Minister is now caught between devil and the deep sea. He cannot sack Venkatesh, as he has already been facing criticism for antagonizing his own cabinet colleagues. He cannot even ask the minister to apologise the bureaucrats. At the same time, he cannot take the issue easy because the IAS officers are already up in arms against the government over the CBI investigation against their senior colleagues. At the most, Kiran can make a request with Venkatesh to save his prestige by withdrawing his remarks.