Kerala Congress criticises IAS Association over ‘selective outrage’

The Kerala Congress on Saturday (August 23, 2025) criticised the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Association for its “selective outrage”, questioning the body’s silence during the alleged political witch hunt of the then Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa in 2019.

The criticism came in response to a statement by the IAS Association condemning personal attacks on Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar and his family on social media.

“Ashok Lavasa, former Election Commissioner, became a rare voice of dissent in 2019 when he opposed giving clean chits to PM Modi and Amit Shah for alleged Model Code violations. His dissent notes were suppressed and he began boycotting EC [Election Commission of India] meetings. Soon after, a barrage of probes followed,” the Kerala Congress said in a post on social media platform X, addressed to the association.

“His [Mr. Lavasa’s] wife received income tax notices, his son’s company was scrutinised, his sister was questioned, and PSUs [public sector undertakings] were told to revisit decisions from his stint as Power Secretary. The timing made it clear that dissent came at a cost. It was a clear political witch hunt to punish him and intimidate others in Constitutional posts. Lavasa was eventually sidelined, never became Chief Election Commissioner, and moved abroad to the Asian Development Bank,” the Kerala Congress said.

“Where was your association back then? We can take many more cases where IAS/IPS (Indian Police Service)/IRS (Indian Revenue Service) officers who were hunted down by Modi, and you were maintaining stoic silence. Right from Sanjiv Bhatt, Pradeep Sharma and many more. How come you are able to speak up now?” the party said.

The IAS Association, via its X handle, on Friday expressed concern that “unwarranted criticism” had been directed against the family members of the CEC, who are also well-regarded civil servants.

“The IAS Association strongly deprecates such personal attacks unconnected with the discharge of official duties. We stand for dignity and integrity in public service,” it said, in response to the trolling of the CEC and his family, particularly his daughters.

Mr. Kumar is a 1988 batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre. He retired as Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation in January 2024, and was appointed as an Election Commissioner two months later. He took over as the CEC in February.