Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Electoral Officer RS Gopalan Thursday said he has sought voluntary retirement (VRS) from government service for personal reasons, nearly 21 months before his scheduled superannuation.
Gopalan, a 2001-batch IAS officer, has been serving as CEO since July 2024 and also holds the additional charge of secretary in the excise department.
He was due to superannuate in June 2028.
Speaking to PTI, Gopalan said his decision to seek VRS was unrelated to the controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
“I wanted to take VRS for personal reasons. I would like to focus on personal matters. I will concentrate on my family and stay put in Bhubaneswar till my son’s school education is completed,” he said.
Asked whether his decision was linked to opposition demands for his resignation over the SIR exercise, Gopalan said, “Let them be happy if they want. I have completed 25 years in government service September 2 and therefore decided to take VRS.”
He said he had planned to apply for VRS after the final electoral rolls was published and felt that the “major task” had been completed after its release September 21.
The final electoral rolls published after the SIR exercise contains around 3.16 crore voters.
The exercise had drawn criticism from the opposition BJD and Congress over the deletion of names from the electoral rolls.
Meanwhile, Opposition BJD and Congress leaders questioned the timing of Gopalan’s VRS.
“We have a strong doubt that the senior IAS officer must be under pressure either from Gyanesh Kumar, the BJP governments at the Centre or the state. I know him personally. He is an efficient officer. He might have resigned to escape the prevailing complex situation,” Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das told reporters.
Earlier, Congress workers had staged a demonstration outside Gopalan’s office in the city, demanding the resignation of Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
BJD leader and former minister Arun Kumar Sahoo also questioned the circumstances surrounding Gopalan’s decision.
“Things are not as transparent as they look. There must have been pressure on the officer to resign. Why should any senior IAS officer opt for VRS less than two years before his retirement? The BJP people might have put pressure on him,” Sahoo said.
Sahoo said two All India Service officers had sought VRS and alleged that officers were uncomfortable working under the BJP government.
Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan rejected the Opposition’s allegations, saying an officer has the right to seek voluntary retirement.
“There should be no attempt to politicise the matter,” he said, adding that the VRS application was entirely a personal matter of the officer.
Earlier, September 22, the Opposition BJD had alleged that more than 27.50 lakh voters were excluded during the SIR process and claimed that the matter was being concealed.
It had also alleged that the CEO had “manipulated” voter data.
Gopalan has held several key positions during his career, including deputy director general of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), secretary in the Labour Department and director of agriculture.
Earlier this month, Bhubaneswar Deputy Commissioner of Police Jagmohan Meena, an IPS officer, had also resigned from government service.
The Odisha government accepted his resignation August 27 and subsequently forwarded it to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs for further processing.
