Ex-IAS Kannan Gopinathan joins Congress

Bureaucrat-turned-activist Kannan Gopinathan, who resigned from the civil services in protest against the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, has joined the Congress.

A fierce critic of the Modi government, Gopinathan said,he joined congress because he thought that only the Congress can take the country in the right direction now.

“I resigned from my job in 2019 because I knew the direction in which the government was taking the country was wrong,” Gopinathan said after joining the party on 13 October, Monday.

“Under this government, anyone who questions is branded a traitor,” he added. “It took me time, but I’m happy that I’m now associated with the Congress, and I’ll fulfil every responsibility given to me with complete honesty.”

Gopinathan, a native of Kerala, who has served in the North-East and other parts of India, came into public focus in 2019 when he resigned from the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu joint administration over what he called the government’s “denial of freedom of expression” in Jammu and Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370, deploring the media blackouts.

Welcoming Gopinathan to the party, Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal said, “Bureaucrats who fight for justice and the marginalised are being penalised by the government — this phenomenon is evident in both Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. Even the Chief Justice of India is not immune to these attacks. It’s the right time to fight against this divisive agenda, and we wholeheartedly welcome Gopinathan’s entry into the Congress.”

Pawan Khera, AICC’s chairman of media and publicity, echoed the sentiment, saying, “We are happy that Gopinathan-ji has chosen the Congress party. Our doors are open for every voice that speaks of freedom and justice.”

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