IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan, who resigned recently and claimed he did so over "denial of freedom of expression" to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, on Wednesday said more than the scrapping of special status under Article 370 "the lack of response" to it was more upsetting.
"None was asking the government. Suddenly we all became part of the government and all of us felt obligated to be part of something historic.... When institutions fail, individuals should stand up. There is no other way," he said at a public gathering here.
Nation-building takes a lot of persuasion, patience and a bit of coercion, Gopinanthan said adding more than the decision to do away with the special status, what happened after that was upsetting."The lack of response for it was more upsetting."