IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan who quit over Kashmir issue asked to join duty immediately
Daman, Aug 29: IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who resigned last week and stated that he did so as the denial of "freedom of expression" to the people of Jammu and Kashmir was not acceptable to him, has been asked to resume duty and continue to work till his resignation is accepted.
Gopinathan, who was the secretary, power department of the Union Territories of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, submitted resignation to the Home Ministry on August 21.
The Personnel Department of Daman and Diu has now asked him to attend the office till it is accepted.
As he was not present in Silvassa, the capital city of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, officials pasted a notice on the door of the room in a government guesthouse where he lived.
The notice, dated August 27, has been signed by Gurpreet Singh, deputy secretary, personnel department of Daman and Diu.
Citing Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) rules, the notice said resignation by a government officer "becomes effective when it is accepted".
"Therefore, you are hereby directed to continue attending to your assigned duties immediately, till a decision is taken on your resignation," it said.
When contacted, Gopinathan told PTI that he was aware of the notice, but declined to comment further.
After resigning, the IAS officer had claimed he took the decision as he wanted to express his views against the "denial of freedom of expression" in Kashmir.
His resignation, though, had made no mention of the Kashmir issue.
After tendering resignation, Gopinathan, who hails from Kottayam district of Kerala, had said to abrogate Article 370 of the Constitution was the "right of elected government", but in democracy people have the right to respond, too.
"After taking the decision on Kashmir, nearly 20 days have passed and even now, the people there are not allowed to react or respond to it and that is not acceptable in a democratic set-up. Personally, I could not accept it and continue in the service during such a time," he had told PTI.
The 32-year-old officer had first come into limelight when he hid his identity and joined in relief work during the 2018 Kerala floods.
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Bengal: Over 55 pc turnout till 1 pm in repoll in 15 booths of 2 assembly seats
Kolkata (PTI): Over 55 per cent turnout was recorded till 1 pm in repoll in 15 booths of two assembly constituencies in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district on Saturday, an official said.
Voting was underway more or less peacefully at 11 polling stations of Magrahat Paschim assembly constituency and four in Diamond Harbour, where the EC ordered repoll a day ago, following reports of electoral malpractices.
However, at booth number 179 at Chanda Primary School of Diamond Harbour seat, the Trinamool Congress alleged that a specially abled voter and his mother were harassed by central forces. The alleged incident sparked protests by party workers and locals.
The TMC claimed that the voter's mother, who had entered the booth to assist him, and her son were detained for a considerable time by central forces over alleged rule violations.
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"TMC leaders Manmohini Biswas and Pratik Ur Rahman reached the spot and led the protests, with residents terming the action unwarranted harassment. The matter has been taken care of by our officials there," an official of the poll body said.
Polling was otherwise peaceful across 15 booths in the area, he added.
Voting began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, the official said, adding that till 1 pm, the turnout was 55.57 per cent.
Magrahat Paschim registered 56.33 per cent voter turnout, while in Diamond Harbour, it was 54.9 per cent, a poll official stated.
Voting in these two assembly constituencies was held in the second phase of the state elections on April 29.
The repoll order was based on reports received from returning officers and observers of the two constituencies and "material circumstances", the Election Commission official said.
In Magrahat Paschim, TMC's Md Samim Ahamed Molla is pitted against BJP nominee Goursundar Ghosh, while Abdul Majid Halder of the Congress and ISF candidate Abdul Aziz Al Hassan are also in the fray.
TMC candidate Panna Lal Halder is contesting against Dipak Kumar Halder of the BJP in the Diamond Harbour seat. Goutam Bhattacharya of the Congress and CPI(M)'s Samar Naiya are among other candidates.
The BJP had alleged rampant electoral malpractices in certain polling stations of both the assembly seats under the Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha constituency, which is represented by TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.
The EC had deputed its special observer, Subrata Gupta, to fact-check the allegations from the ground.
The poll panel will decide on repolling in the Falta assembly constituency on Saturday.
The West Bengal assembly elections were held in two phases -- April 23 and April 29 -- amid unprecedented security arrangements.
Counting of votes will take place on May 4.
