Jagmohan Singh Raju, the celebrated IAS officer in Tamil Nadu, has quit the service and entered the electoral fray in Punjab as a BJP candidate. The BJP leadership had fielded him as party candidate from Amritsar East assembly constituency where he will fight against Navjot Singh Sidhu (Congress), Bikram Singh Majithia (SAD) and Jeevanjoth Kaur (AAP).
Raju, Chief Resident Commissioner of Tamil Nadu in New Delhi who has been holding the rank of additional chief secretary, had sought voluntary retirement from the IAS in a letter addressed to Chief Minister M K Stalin on January 25 and this was approved by the latter.
“Of late, the painful conditions in my home State, Punjab, have been weighing heavy on my conscience. As son of the soil, I am agonised at the lingering socio-economic stress and the sufferings of the unheard, youth and the underprivileged. At the same time, restraints of my service rules confine me from acting in solidarity with the causes espoused by my inner voice. My conscience and deep-rooted love for my home state has therefore been cajoling and nudging me to my service, return to Punjab and dedicate myself full-time in its service for the rest of my life,” said Raju in his letter to chief minister Stalin.
1963 born Raju had almost two years of service in government before his superannuation. He was designated as chief secretary in 2016, thereby becoming the youngest IAS officer in India to hold the position. Described as the shining star among the country’s IAS officers by his colleagues, Raju has been accorded international honours for the meritorious services rendered by him.
He is one of the few civil servants in the country who have been honoured by the UNESCO with the King Sejong Literacy Prize.