SRINAGAR: Senior leader Bhartia Janta Party (BJP) Union minister Jitendra Singh said the resignation of Kashmiri IAS officer Shah Faesal displayed a “lack of conviction” on Faesal’s part and that the former civil servant should have been “ready to condemn the act of terrorism”.
While speaking to reporters, 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.” Singh added that it was not right to make the Indian state “a soft target” which is “tolerant.”
The minister said, “You can’t enjoy protection of security forces against a potential attack and at the same time not be 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.”
Abdullah who pointed out on Twitter that the Kashmiri’s father had “died in the hands of militants.” Faesal, who resigned on Wednesday, is likely to join the National Conference, and contest the Parliamentary elections from the north Kashmir seat. He had, on Wednesday, attributed his decision to the “unabated killings in Kashmir”, the Central government’s “lack of sincere” efforts to reach out to the Kashmiris and the “marginalisation of the Indian Muslims”. Abdullah referred to Singh as “Dr Sahib” and asked him to “educate” himself before speaking.
Shah, a 2010-batch IAS officer who was the first person from Jammu and Kashmir to top the civil services exam, announced his resignation on social media on Wednesday, slamming the NDA government over the “absence of any credible political initiative to address the situation in Kashmir. (PTK)
