After senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Thursday presented the point of view of the government over the resignation of Shah Faesal, the first Kashmiri IAS topper, from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS).
Jitendra Singh said, “This in itself is an indication of lack of conviction. If you have the conviction then you should be ready to condemn the act of terrorism.
You can’t enjoy protection of security forces against a potential attack and at the same time not are courageous enough to point out at a terrorist as a terrorist but find a soft target in an Indian state which is tolerant and gives leverage to your expression.”
Reacting to Singh’s statement about Faesal, Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah said, “Dr Sahib Shah Faesal’s father was killed by militants but I don’t expect you to bother to educate yourself before you speak. No one more than Faesal knows the pain & suffering militancy & violence have brought upon Kashmir & its people.”
Dr Sahib Shah Faesal’s father was killed by militants but I don’t expect you to bother to educate yourself before you speak. No one more than Faesal knows the pain & suffering militancy & violence have brought upon Kashmir & it’s people. https://t.co/YfHGIrL3eZ
— Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) January 10, 2019
The first IAS topper from Kashmir, Shah Faesal had tendered his resignation on Wednesday, in his own admission, as a mark of protest against the unabated killings in Jammu and Kashmir and against the marginalisation of Indian Muslims by the Hindutva forces, reducing them to second class citizens.
There were reports that he would join the National Conference (NC) and contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections from the Valley.
Faesal, who had topped the civil service exam in 2009, said he would be making a formal announcement in this regard on Friday in a media interaction.