Hindutva supporters on Saturday reacted angrily to unconfirmed reports that IAS topper Shah Faesal was likely to be made an advisor to Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha. This was after News18 quoted ‘top sources’ to claim that Faesal was likely to advise the Lieutenant Governor and the administration on local matters.
Many Hindutva supporters appeared angry with the BJP government for reportedly deciding to appoint Faesal at this prestigious role.
Shah Faesal as advisor to LG Kashmir is a terrible decision. @AmitShah we do not need to pander to agenda driven Kashmiris. We need people on board who will think India irrespective of their religious leanings.
— Savio Rodrigues ???????? (@PrinceArihan) October 9, 2021
An IAS officer detained at the airport & prevented from fleeing to Turkey will now have access to J&K Governor’s office & sensitive documents.
Couldn’t get crazier !#ShahFaesal
— Nandini ???????? (@NAN_DINI_) October 9, 2021
IAS officer turned separatist politician turned patriot Shah Faesal appointed as advisor to the Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha ???? I feel bad for Shehla Rashid the most.
— Shubhangi Sharma (@ItsShubhangi) October 9, 2021
The news that Shah Faesal is appointed as advisor in J&K should give you the *Talikota chills*. We learn from history that we do not learn from history.
— Joseph T Noony (@JoeAgneya) October 9, 2021
I was hearing J&K LG Manoj Sinha yesterday. When he said he will take revenge of innocents keeled by terr0rist in Kashmir then I thought he must be planning for an army operation.
Didn’t know he’ll answer terr0rists by appointing Pak-terr0r sympathiser Shah Faesal as his advisor.— Mr Sinha (@MrSinha_) October 9, 2021
In 2019, Faesal was stopped from travelling abroad at the Delhi airport before being arrested and taken to Srinagar, where he was kept under house arrest for several months.
Faesal, who became the first Kashmiri to top the civil services exams in 2009, was reportedly flying to Istanbul when he was stopped at the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport. Faesal has been very critical of the government’s crackdown in the valley.
Months after his release, not only did he disband his political outfit, Jammu & Kashmir People’s Movement, but he also began to desperately prove his support for the Indian government.
In one tweet, Faesal had praised PM Narendra Modi’s communication skills as he wrote, “It is like 1.3 Billion people coming together as a family on a Sunday morning and each one being heard and spoken to, each one feeling counted. My take away from this program: Communication can build solidarities and make a nation ‘sound’ like a family.”
On another occasion, Faesal had declared India as a ‘Jagat Guru’ adding that the country had assumed ‘global leadership’ through its vaccination drive. “This is more than just a vaccination program. It’s good governance + human capital formation + nation building + India assuming global leadership as a Jagat Guru,” he had written.
When Modi took the first dose of his vaccine, the Kashmiri IAS topper had tweeted, “Article 51A of the Constitution expects all Indians to develop scientific temper and it is one of our fundamental duties to have faith in what scientists are telling. By taking the vaccine PM @narendramodi has done his duty. It is now our turn to follow.”