Former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who resigned from civil service after criticizing Modi govt, joins Congress

NEW DELHI: Former IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who resigned from civil service after criticizing Modi government, has joined Congress. He accepted the party membership at 11.30 am today at the AICC headquarters in Delhi. Kannan Gopinathan resigned following differences of opinion with the central government on several issues including the abrogation of Article 370.

Kannan had harshly criticized the central government's policies including demonetization. The central government then filed a charge sheet against him. The charge sheet filed alleged that the IAS officer tried to stain the image of the center. Following this, he resigned from the post of Energy Secretary in Dadra and Nagar Haveli.

Kannan accepted membership from AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal, who is in charge of the organization. Leaders including Kanhaiya Kumar were present at the function. Before joining the party, Kannan had met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi.

Kannan's response after joining the Congress was that he would work for the people. This is a party of citizens. However, the journey is from citizens to subjects. The goal is to travel back to the citizens. He also clarified that the party will decide what his role will be.