Ex-IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who quit the post over Article 370 abrogation, joins congress

Ex-IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who had resigned to protest denial of freedom of expression to the people of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, joined the Indian National Congress on Monday.

He was welcomed by K C Venugopal.

Gopinathan was the secretary, Power Department of the Union Territories of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli when he resigned August 21, 2019.

When the BJP government had asked him to join duty on the ground that his resignation was not accepted he accused them of harassment and refused to join duty, saying would rather volunteer his service to people during the COVID-19 crisis but not serve as an IAS officer any further.

Gopinathan has been critical of the ruling party BJP especially after the imposition of curbs in Jammu & Kashmir after revocation of Article 370 and bifurcation of the state in Union Territories in 2019. "I also knew that I had to fight against this wrong. After this decision, I travelled to 80-90 districts of the country, talked to people, and met with numerous leaders. I realised that only the Congress party can take this country in the right direction," he said.

"We saw that in this government, anyone who asks questions is labelled a traitor. It took me quite some time, but I'm happy that today I am associated with the Congress party, and I will fulfil whatever responsibility the party gives me with complete honesty," Gopinathan said.

In a post on X, Venugopal said, "We warmly welcome Shri Kannan Gopinathan, former IAS officer and fearless voice for democracy, to the Congress family."

"He has served as a principled administrator, an active citizen, and a committed democrat, and his joining will certainly give a boost to our movement that stands to protect the Constitution, freedom, and inclusive social fabric of India," the Congress general secretary said.

During the ceremony talking about Gopinathan, KC Venugopal said, "One of the brave bureaucrats who has a passion towards the downtrodden and marginalised people of the country and who has always fought for justice and unity: this is what defines Gopinathan ji. He was born in Kerala and has worked in the Northeast and other parts of the country."

(with inputs from PTI)