Ready to fight Covid-19 but won’t rejoin, says Kannan

TNN | Apr 12, 2020, 04:36 IST

Thiruvananthapuram: Kannan Gopinathan, who has submitted his resignation from the Indian Administrative Service to make his voice heard against the suspension of civil rights in Jammu and Kashmir, has been served notice by the central government to join back the service.
The administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, where Kannan was serving before he submitted his resignation last year, has issued a notice to him to report for the duty in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak in the country. However, he stood firm on his stand that he has already submitted his resignation and there is no question of joining back. “I am ready to work anywhere if the government wants me to voluntarily as a responsible citizen of the society, but no more as an IAS officer. I have already submitted my resignation and there is no question of rejoining the service,” Kannan told STOI over the phone.
In his formal reply to the notice, he said that he has already submitted his resignation in August last year, and accordingly the government has not been processing his salary since then. Under these circumstances, he has no obligation to reply to the notice, he said. He further said that he has been extending his services to governmental and non-governmental agencies to fight the pandemic. He also later tweeted that the letter was not sent to him in good faith or intention, but as a tool for further harassment. tnn