Senthil’s colleague Gopinathan had resigned from service in August to protest “denial of freedom of expression to the people of Jammu and Kashmir”, following abrogation of Article 370. Gopinathan, who was the secretary of the power department of the Union Territories of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, submitted resignation to the home ministry on August 21. However, he was asked to resume duty and continue to work till his resignation was accepted.
Bengaluru: S. Sasikanth Senthil, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer and Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka on Friday, resigned from his post citing that he could no longer continue in office when the “fundamental building blocks of democracy were being compromised in an unprecedented manner”.
Senthil is a 2009 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer.
“I have taken this decision as I feel that it is unethical for me to continue as a civil servant in the government when fundamental building blocks of our diverse democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner,” he said in his resignation letter that has been widely circulated on social media platforms.
It is unclear who the IAS officer is targeting in his resignation but adds that he strongly feels that the coming days would present “extremely difficult challenges to the basic fabric of our nation”.
At least two people from the Dakshina Kannada DC office and one legislator from the district confirmed the contents of the letter. However, Senthil could not be reached for comment. He is currently in Tamil Nadu, according to the legislator cited above. This copy will be updated when he does respond.
Senthil’s resignation has stirred up a storm across the country with opposition leaders taking turns to imply that it was getting harder for honest officials work in the current regime under Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
“In such situations, what else will such an honest official do,” former Karnataka chief minister H.D.Kumaraswamy said on Friday.
Senthil’s resignation comes shortly after Kannan Gopinathan, another IAS official, resigned last month after he felt strongly against the restrictions placed on the people of Jammu and Kashmir before and after Article 370 was revoked.
“After taking the decision on Kashmir, nearly 20 days have passed and even now, the people there are not allowed to react or respond to it and that is not acceptable in a democratic setup. Personally, I could not accept it and continue in the service during such a time,” Kannan Gopinanthan had told PTI in an earlier interview.
