Kashmir IAS topper Shah Faesal resigns from service, to join politics
09 Jan 2019
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Civil services topper and IAS officer Shah Faesal has resigned from civil services and is set to join politics. The 2010-batch topper from the Kashmir who had invited government wrath for his tweet on the country’s rape culture is likely to join the National Conference to contest Lok Sabha elections.
Faesal has submitted his resignation to the government. A senior official in the J&K’s general administration department said they had received Faesal’s resignation. Sources said Faesal could be the NC’s candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
“To protest the unabated killings in Kashmir and absence of any credible political initiative from union government, I have decided to resign from IAS. Kashmiri lives matter,” Faesal tweeted.
Faesal is also the first bureaucrat to join the debate on Article 35A of the Constitution.
Faesal said he would be addressing a press conference on Friday, adding that he has attached a detailed statement on his decisaion.
National Conference vice president and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah welcomed Faesal’s decision. “The bureaucracy’s loss is politics’ gain. Welcome to the fold @shahfaesal,” Omar tweeted.
Omar, however, clarified that he didn’t welcome Faesal to the fold of National Conference. “Actually I welcomed him to fold of politicians. His future political plans are his to announce,” Omar tweeted.
“The bureaucracy’s loss is politics’ gain. Welcome to the fold @shahfaesal,” Omar Abdullah tweeted.
A doctor by profession, Faesal was the managing director of the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation (JKPDC) before he went to Harvard University in the United States to pursue further studies. He was supposed to join his department in June this year.
In 2009, Faesal topped the civil services examinations, becoming the first one to ace the test from Kashmir. He was allotted the Jammu Kashmir cadre and served in various capacities, including Director Education and Deputy Commissioner.
Faesal had invited the wrath of the government last year for his tweet on rape culture. “Patriarchy+Population+ Illiteracy+Alcohol+Porn+Technology+Anarchy = Rapistan!” he had tweeted.
