Former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who quit civil services in 2019 over “violation of fundamental rights of people in Jammu and Kashmir”, and campaigned against the Citizenship Amendment Act, has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to accept his resignation.

Gopinathan informed Modi through an X post that he couldn’t contest the Kerala elections as the Centre had not accepted his resignation even after 6.5 years.

AICC general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal had given the party membership to Gopinathan in October 2025.

Since then, the 40-year-old former bureaucrat has been touring various states raising questions on democracy, the “victim threat” among the majority and violation of fundamental rights in Jammu and Kashmir.

Kottayam native Gopinathan was expected to be in the fray in the Assembly elections to be held in Kerala on April 9. But with the Centre dilly-dallying on accepting his resignation, the Congress had a change of stand in giving him a ticket to contest.

On Wednesday, Gopinathan took to X to highlight the “harassment” being meted out to him by the Centre.

“Dear PM @narendramodi, just wanted to bring to your attention that your government has refused to process my resignation for 6.5 years. No salary and no release. This has stopped me from professionally moving on. And has also prevented me from contesting elections in Kerala. This is pure harassment and nothing else.

“I’ve chosen not to raise my personal issue as I am very well aware the kind of hardships millions are going through under your governance. But blocking my right to resign and take part in the democratic process is pathetic and petty, whatever my political position is. Stop this pettiness and direct your lethargic government to process my resignation immediately,” Gopinathan wrote.