Shah Faesal condemned the gag order and then added another status saying criticism should also be polite
IAS officer Shah Faesal on Wednesday said he would use code language to update his Facebook account, reacting to the Jammu and Kashmir government's gag order on the use of social media for its employees.
Mr Faesal condemned the gag act and in a Facebook update wrote in his mother tongue how he would be using code language for updating things.
"Heard that government employees will be subjected to foot whipping for operating Facebook (account). From now on I will use coded language to update," Mr Faesal, the first Kashmiri to top the civil services examination in 2009, wrote on his Facebook page hours after the government issued the gag order.
The Jammu and Kashmir government had in the order on Tuesday barred its employees from using their social media accounts for any political activity by amending the conduct rules for them.
According to the regulatory order (SRO), no government employee shall engage in any criminal, dishonest, immoral or notoriously disgraceful conduct on social media which may be prejudicial to the state.
Seven hours later, the IAS officer wrote another post in which he called on government employees to observe a certain code of conduct while using social media.
"But jokes apart, Government employees must observe a certain code of conduct while using social media. I mean good behaviour, nothing more. I have seen some teachers hurling invective, doctors abusing with freedom, officers getting into unsavoury arguments and engineers sharing indecent content, much to everyone's embarrassment. That is not acceptable. Even criticism has to be worded politely," the civil servant said.
Many Facebook users in the comments "warned" Mr Faesal that the order might land him in trouble along with strict criticism against the order.
(With inputs from PTI)