U.P. Congress chief Ajay Rai flags IAS officer Divya Mittal’s resignation, seeks Governor’s intervention

Uttar Pradesh Congress president Ajay Rai on Monday (August 31, 2026) wrote a letter to the State Governor Anandiben Patel raising the issue of the recent resignation of a 2013-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the U.P. Cadre, Divya Mittal, describing it as very serious and adding respect for honest officers, their independent and impartial functioning and an environment free from administrative and political pressure is much needed in the State.

“The resignation letter shared through social media by 2013-batch IAS officer on August 30 is in the public domain. The officer served the State and public for roughly 13 years and did pro-people work. It is a concerning matter that an able officer was shifted from the field. The reason for the resignation is not clear, but since the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government came to power in 2017, 13 other IAS officials have either resigned or taken voluntary retirement, which is a very serious matter.

It forced me to raise the issue of respect for honest officers, their independent and impartial functioning and an environment free from administrative pressure. The government should seriously investigate the matter and bring out the truth. If the morale of honest officers is broken, then trust in the system will also be broken. I urge you to raise the issue with the Union government so that the respect and dignity of honest officers are protected,” reads the letter by Mr. Rai, addressed to the U.P. Governor.

A 2013-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Divya Mittal, on Sunday (August 30) announced her resignation from the service in a social media post calling her 13-year journey unforgettable.

“Today, I have voluntarily resigned from IAS, putting an end to an unforgettable journey of 13 years. Growing up in a humble environment, I dreamed of a good, successful life. After studying at IIT Delhi and IIM Bangalore, I worked day and night and landed a job in London. But even after having everything, something felt incomplete. I felt uneasy about not being in my own country. My education, my self-confidence, my ability to walk with my head held high anywhere in the world, all were a debt I owed to this land. I had to repay that debt. I wanted my handprints on the bricks that would build the India I dreamed of. So I returned and was fortunate to become an IAS officer. I had the opportunity to do many things and learned a lot. Deoria taught me that standing up for what is right is not an option, but a duty. Mirzapur taught me that “impossible” is not a fact, but simply an opinion. And sitting at the feet of Mother Vindhyavasini, I learned that power comes not from a position, but from her grace and the trust of the people,” she wrote in a social media post.

The IAS officer added, “the biggest lesson was that the dreams I had for myself had been fulfilled; now I had to live the dreams I had for my people. The true peace of this life was visible in the eyes of the family who got the right to land for the first time, the disabled person who got the opportunity to live with dignity, and the farmer whose fields got water. Walking with them in their struggles, I learned that behind every government file is a person, and maintaining their dignity is justice,”.