Next Shah Faesal? Kerala IAS Officer Resigns Over Restrictions In J&K, Wants His ‘Freedom Of Expression’ Back

An IAS officer hailing from Kerala who was posted as Secretary - power, urban development, town and country planning in Dadra and Nagar Haweli has tendered his resignation to the Home Secretary to “get his freedom of expression back”, The Hindu has reported.

Kannan Gopinathan who hails from Kerala’s Kottayam had made headlines while participating in the rescue and relief efforts during the Kerala floods last year.

Gopinathan claimed that he has taken this decision to “get back his freedom of expression”. He targeted the Modi government over restrictions imposed on the residents of Jammu and Kashmir over the abrogation of Article 370.

“I have been really perturbed by what is happening in the country, wherein a large section of our population have had their fundamental rights suspended. We got into the service thinking that we can provide voice to people, but then we ended up with our own voice being taken away from us”, said Gopinathan.

This has led many to draw parallels between him and former UPSC topper Shah Faesal who also recently quit the civil services to take a plunge into politics. Since then he has courted various controversies including calling for “avenging the insult meted out to Kashmiris” post Article 370 abrogation.