Kannan Gopinathan, a 2012-batch IAS officer, has tendered his resignation from the service to regain “my voice” and be able to speak out on situations he sees as unbecoming of a democracy.
Gopinathan, now serving as secretary for power and non-conventional sources of energy in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, confirmed to The Telegraph that he had submitted his resignation on Wednesday. He will remain in service till it is processed and accepted.
“I need my voice back to express and react to situations that I perceive to be unbefitting of a democratic country. Basically, I feel strongly about the suspension of the Fundamental Rights and the lack of response to it,” he told this newspaper.
Sources said the bureaucrat had been feeling constrained by the service conditions that muzzle officials from speaking on sensitive issues.
“He felt it best to follow his conscience and leave. It is not an easy decision to give up what is still regarded as one of the most coveted jobs in the country,’’ an official said.
Fairly active on social media, Gopinathan had in a recent tweet said: “I once thought that being in civil services meant an opportunity to expand the rights and freedoms of fellow citizens!’’
Gopinathan, who is from Kerala, had shot to fame last year when he was found providing hands-on help to the flood-relief efforts, carrying relief material and distributing it in the camps.
A chance encounter with an official led to his identity being revealed. It turned out that he had taken leave to come and help.
Before his current posting, the Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory cadre officer was in Mizoram.
In his current posting, he had objected to the Dadra and Nagar Haveli administrator issuing notices to the district collector during elections as the collector doubles as the returning officer. He had referred the matter to the Election Commission, which directed the administrator to withdraw the notice.
While Gopinathan has been praised for his latest decision, former Union HRD secretary Anil Swarup tweeted: “We are all proud of such officers. Kannan won accolades for his work. Why does he choose to resign from a service, the IAS, that offers so much scope to serve the people & derive enormous amount of satisfaction? He himself demonstrated what can be done.”