Ex-IAS Officer Kannan Gopinathan Joins Congress

Former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Kannan Gopinathan joined the Congress on Monday.

“He is one of the brave bureaucrats who had passion for the oppressed and marginalized people of the country and always fought for justice and unity,” Congress secretary and MP KC Venugopal said while introducing the party’s latest member to resign as a mark of protest against the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.

Gopinathan, who became a batch IAS officer in 2012, was instrumental in starting many large and small projects in the northeast, especially Aizwal.

“I only consider as traitors those people who know that the country is not moving in the right direction but remain silent for their own benefit, greed or survival,” Gopinathan said in his first press conference after joining the grand old party.

“I didn’t want to be that kind of traitor. It may be the government’s decision to abrogate Article 370. But if you decide to shut down an entire state, jail all journalists, MPs and former CMs, shut down transport, communication and internet, then is that right?” asked Gopinathan.

The Kerala-born IAS has been raising his voice against oppression and the stifling of human rights ever since he left the service.

“This is a question not only for me but for all of us. Can this be true in a democratic country? Shouldn’t voices be raised against this? I raised this question and I stand behind it today,” he said.

Before formally joining the Congress, Gopinathan met party president and leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

“He resigned in 2019 but his resignation is still not accepted. Bureaucrats and outcasts who fight for justice are being punished by the government; this is evident in both Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. Even the Chief Justice of India is not immune from these attacks,” Venugopal said.

Along with West Bengal, Assembly elections in Kerala are also scheduled to be held next year. Gopinathan personally carried out relief work during the flood disaster in his home state in 2018, without revealing his identity.

He is likely to play a key role both in the state and at the centre.