Kashmir IAS topper Shah Faesal resigns from civil services, likely to join National Conference

Agencies
January 9, 2019

New Delhi, Jan 9: Civil services topper and IAS officer Shah Faesal on Wednesday resigned from civil services and is set to join politics. Faesal is likely to join the National Conference.

“To protest the unabated killings in Kashmir and absence of any credible political initiative from Union government, I have decided to resign from IAS. Kashmiri lives matter,” Faesal tweeted.

National Conference vice-president and former J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah welcomed Faesal’s decision. “The bureaucracy’s loss is politics’ gain. Welcome to the fold @shahfaesal,” Omar tweeted.

Omar, however, clarified that he didn’t welcome Faesal to the fold of National Conference. “Actually I welcomed him to fold of politicians. His future political plans are his to announce,” Omar tweeted.

Faesal has submitted his resignation to the government. A senior official in the J&K’s General Administration department said they had received Faesal’s resignation. Sources said Faesal could be the NC’s candidate for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

A doctor by profession, Faesal was the managing director of the Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Corporation (JKPDC) before he went to Harvard University in the United States to pursue further studies. He was supposed to join his department in June this year.

In 2009, Faesal topped the civil services examinations, becoming the first one to ace the test from Kashmir. He was allotted the Jammu Kashmir cadre and served in various capacities, including Director Education and Deputy Commissioner.

Faesal had invited the wrath of the government last year for his tweet on rape culture. “Patriarchy+Population+ Illiteracy+Alcohol+Porn+Technology+Anarchy = Rapistan!” he had tweeted.

The Centre had asked the J&K General Administration Department to initiate an inquiry into Faesal’s tweets, as he “allegedly failed to maintain absolute honesty and integrity” in discharge of his official duty.

Faesal is also the first bureaucrat to join the debate on Article 35A, comparing the petition to challenge it to a “nikahnama”.

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Agencies
February 16,2020

New Delhi, Feb 16: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal was on Sunday sworn-in as the Chief Minister of Delhi for the third time in a row at Ramlila Maidan here, after his party registered a massive victory in the recently concluded Delhi Assembly polls.

Kejriwal was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal.

The sprawling Ramlila Maidan reverberated with sounds of thousands of people cheering for the AAP leader.

Kejriwal who received a hero's welcome here had extended an invitation to the people of Delhi urging them to attend the swearing-in ceremony to witness "the son of Delhi" taking oath today.

The AAP nearly repeated its 2015 performance in the elections, sweeping the Assembly polls winning 62 seats in the 70-member Assembly, in the face of a high-voltage campaign by the BJP, which fielded a battery of Union Ministers and Chief Ministers in its electioneering spearheaded by Home Minister Amit Shah. 

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News Network
April 17,2020

New Delhi, Apr 17: A total of 3,336 Indians tested positive for coronavirus in 53 countries while 25 others died of the infection, government sources said on Thursday.

They said the Indians stranded abroad will have to be patient as the government is not evacuating them as part of a larger policy decision to check the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

"They need to be patient and stay where they are. Our missions have been told to extend all possible help to the stranded Indians," said a source.

According to the sources, evacuation of around 35,000 foreign nationals from 48 countries has been facilitated so far from India.

The sources said the majority of Indians who tested positive for the coronavirus infection are living in the Gulf region. A sizeable number of Indians staying in France and the US have also tested positive.

They said that Indian missions in the Gulf region have been told to extend all possible assistance to the Indians in distress.

Around eight million Indians are living in the Gulf countries and there has been growing anxiety among them over their livelihood in view of the pandemic as it has majorly impacted the oil-driven economy of the region.

Almost all Gulf countries have taken a series of drastic measures including imposing total lockdown, travel restrictions and even closing borders to stem the spread of the coronavirus infection.

The United Arab Emirates has already warned of possible action against countries refusing to allow their citizens to return.

Around 3.3 million Indians are living in the UAE and they constitute roughly 30 per cent of the country's population. Among the Indian states, Kerala is the most represented followed by Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.

A large number of Indians are working in the construction sector in Qatar which is hosting the FIFA World Cup in 2022.

As a matter of policy, India has decided not to bring back the stranded Indians from abroad till the nationwide lockdown ends.

The issue of Indians in Gulf region figured prominently during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video conference with heads of Indian missions abroad on March 30.

Welfare of Indians in the Gulf was the major focus area in the discussions Modi had with leaders of countries in the region over the last few weeks, officials said.

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News Network
May 8,2020

Aurangabad, May 8: At least 15 migrant workers, who were sleeping on the railway tracks while going back to their native places, were run over by a goods train between Maharashtra's Jalna and Aurangabad, officials said on Friday.

A senior railway official confirmed that 15 migrant labourers were run over by a goods train between Jalna and Aurangabad of Nanded Divison of South Central Railway.

The official said that the incident happened around 5.30 am on Friday when the migrant workers, who were on way back to their homes and sleeping on the railway tracks.

However, it is yet not clear from where this group hailed and where they were going.

Amid the nationwide lockdown, thousands of migrant workers stranded in several other cities have started their journey to return to their native places on foot.

The interstate bus service, passenger, mail and express train services have been suspended since March 24.

The railways has started running Shramik Special trains to transport the stranded migrants to their native places since May 1.

Till Thursday railways has run 201 Shramik Special trains.

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