Former IAS officer Shah Faesal, who quit politics last year, on Friday praised India’s COVID-19 vaccination programme rolled out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government.

Faesal, who was detained under the Public Safety Act (PSA) last year, shared a tweet of PM Modi where he was interacting with COVID-19 vaccination beneficiaries in Varanasi. He wrote on Twitter, “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.”

Faesal’s praise for PM Modi was first since he was detained in 2019 after the abrogation of Article 370, along with other politicians in Jammu and Kashmir.

The tweet by Faesal, who has been critical of the BJP government and the Centre’s action of revoking Article 370, came as a surprise to many, as many on the social media questioned his statement. 

Faesel quit the Indian Administrative Services in January 2019 citing the political crisis in Kashmir and later launched a political party in the state but the government did not accept his resignation at that time. 

Faesal had expressed his displeasure against the Modi government after the A370 abrogation, tweeting, “Kashmir will need a long, sustained, non-violent political mass movement for restoration of political rights. Abolition of Article 370 has finished the mainstream. Constitutionalists are gone. So you can either be a stooge or a separatist now. No shades of grey.”

The former IAS officer was soon after the abrogation of Article 370 was detained by immigration authorities at a Delhi airport in August 2019 and was booked under the PSA in February last year. He was released in July last year.