Kashmiri IAS Topper Shah Faesal 'Joins' NC, Omar Abdullah Says, 'Bureaucracy's Loss is Politics' Gain'
Shah Faesal, the first Kashmiri to top civil services, is stated to contest elections from Baramulla on a National Conference ticket.
Jammu and Kashmir IAS officer Shah Faisal. (Image taken from Facebook)
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New Delhi: Shah Faesal, the first Kashmiri to top civil services, is all set to enter politics ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The IAS officer, who has apparently taken voluntary retirement, is stated to contest elections from Baramulla on a National Conference ticket.
A report in The Print, quoting sources, said that the 2010 batch topper is believed to be eyeing the Baramulla constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He had taken voluntary retirement on Monday to "join the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference".
Reacting to the speculations on Twitter, National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah "welcomed" Faesal to the political fold on Wednesday.
Faesal recently returned to India from a stint as a Fulbright fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. He arrived in Kashmir last week, following which, it is said, he decided to resign.
The IAS topper hit the headlines last year after he posted "sarcastic tweets" against frequent incidents of rape seen in the country, prompting the Jammu and Kashmir administration to initiate a departmental inquiry .
Speaking to News18, Faisal said, "A ban on their freedom of speech and expression is totally unacceptable." Omar Abdullah had supported the officer even then, questioning how could a "sarcastic tweet" make him corrupt.
"Looks like DOPT is determined to chase @shahfaesal out of the civil services. The last line of this page is shocking & unacceptable where they question Faesal’s “integrity & honesty”. How is a sarcastic tweet dishonest? How does it make him corrupt?" he wrote.
A report in The Print, quoting sources, said that the 2010 batch topper is believed to be eyeing the Baramulla constituency in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. He had taken voluntary retirement on Monday to "join the Farooq Abdullah-led National Conference".
Reacting to the speculations on Twitter, National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah "welcomed" Faesal to the political fold on Wednesday.
The bureaucracy’s loss is politics’ gain. Welcome to the fold @shahfaesal. https://t.co/955C4m5T6V
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) January 9, 2019
Faesal recently returned to India from a stint as a Fulbright fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. He arrived in Kashmir last week, following which, it is said, he decided to resign.
The IAS topper hit the headlines last year after he posted "sarcastic tweets" against frequent incidents of rape seen in the country, prompting the Jammu and Kashmir administration to initiate a departmental inquiry .
Love letter from my boss for my sarcastic tweet against rape-culture in South Asia.
— Shah Faesal (@shahfaesal) July 10, 2018
The Irony here is that service rules with a colonial spirit are invoked in a democratic India to stifle the freedom of conscience.
I'm sharing this to underscore the need for a rule change. pic.twitter.com/ssT8HIKhIK
Speaking to News18, Faisal said, "A ban on their freedom of speech and expression is totally unacceptable." Omar Abdullah had supported the officer even then, questioning how could a "sarcastic tweet" make him corrupt.
"Looks like DOPT is determined to chase @shahfaesal out of the civil services. The last line of this page is shocking & unacceptable where they question Faesal’s “integrity & honesty”. How is a sarcastic tweet dishonest? How does it make him corrupt?" he wrote.