Kannan Gopinathan, the IAS officer who had resigned in 2019 over the “denial of freedom of expression” to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, joined the Congress on Monday.
“I resigned in 2019. One thing was clear at that time — the direction in which the government wants to take the country is not right. It was clear that I had to fight against the wrong... I travelled across 80-90 districts and spoke with people. I met several leaders. It became clear that only the Congress can take the country in the direction in which it should go,” Gopinathan told a media conference announcing his Congress entry.
At the news meet, Gopinathan was flanked by Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, publicity head Pawan Khera, Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani, National Students Union of India in charge Kanhaiya Kumar and bureaucrat-turned-MP Sasikanth Senthil.
An inquiry was initiated against Gopinathan for insubordination following his resignation in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370. Gopinathan had made it clear that his decision was not a protest against the change in Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional status, but a response to the withdrawal of constitutional freedom of the
people there.
Before Gopinathan, IAS officer Shah Faesal had quit over “unabated killings” before the downgrading of Jammu and Kashmir. He floated his own party but wound it up and withdrew his resignation in 2022. The Centre is yet to accept Gopinathan’s resignation.
“As far as I am concerned, I have resigned. There is no rationale behind it to be pending for six years,” he told The Telegraph.
On whether his Congress entry was motivated by his desire to contest the Kerala polls, he said: “That is a narrow interpretation of why one should join politics. I am on a journey to discover political space. Elections are part of the journey. However, there are a lot of other things one can do in politics... I was actively campaigning against the blatant abuse of power by this government and will continue to do so.”