Madhya Pradesh government issues notice to IAS officer for comments on ‘The Kashmir Files’

The Madhya Pradesh government on Thursday issued show-cause notice to senior IAS officer Niyaz Khan, whose comments on ‘The Kashmir Files’ resulted in a big controversy in the state.

Khan, a 2015 batch IAS officer serving as deputy secretary with the Public Works Department, had last week urged makers of ‘The Kashmir Files’ to also make a film on the killings of large numbers of Muslims across several states in India.

Notice has been issued by the general administration department of the state government which is headed by Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. According to sources, the show-cause notice has been issued on Thursday evening, mentioning that the officer (Khan) has violated the rules of the civil services. He has been asked to submit his reply in seven days.

The notice was sent a day after several state ministers including Home Minister Narottam Mishra demanded action against Khan for his statements on the movie. On Wednesday, Mishra said that the officer had crossed and violated the ‘lakshman rekha’ (limit) set for (government) officials and therefore, a show cause notice will be issued to seek his reply.

In his defence, Khan has maintained that he made statements on a movie using his constitutional right of expression and alleged that he was being targeted for his religious identity. "If expressing an opinion on any serious issue is a violation, then such incidents have come where senior IAS and IPS officers have made comments. But, not a single notice was issued against them. I have been a victim of my name, especially my surname Khan," Niyaz Khan said while talking to IANS on Thursday.

Khan added that apart from being an IAS officer, he is also a writer which makes him express his thoughts using the rights of freedom of expression under the Constitution of India. "What wrong did I do if I said that I would be transferred to Kashmir. I have posted four tweets - two on the movie and two on politicians. I will submit my reply to the department."

Khan made statements on his Twitter account soon after the movie was released. The controversy over Khan gained momentum after a statement on his Twitter account. It read: 

Thinking to write a book to show the massacre of Muslims on different occasions so that a movie like Kashmir Files could be produced by some producer, so that, the pain and suffering of minorities could be brought before Indians

— Niyaz Khan (@saifasa) March 18, 2022

Among several tweets, he pointed directly or indirectly at various people including director of ‘The Kashmir Files’ Vivek Agnihotri, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan and MP and president of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), Asaduddin Owaisi.

On March 20, Khan had pointed fingers at Owaisi saying, "Owaisi ji is silent on the issue. Please speak on human issues, not only during elections. We have to make a strong country joining shoulders with Hindu brothers. Arab is not our model, India is our model and this land is our motherland."

Also, READ: 'The Kashmir Files' box office collection: Film breaches Rs 200 crore mark - see details