After Kannan Gopinathan, another IAS officer quits in Karnataka

After Kannan Gopinathan, another IAS officer quits in Karnataka
S Sasikanth Senthil is the Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner.

Mangaluru: After Kannan Gopinathan, who resigned citing lack of freedom of expression, another IAS officer has followed suit on Friday. The Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner, S Sasikanth Senthil, submitted his resignation from the IAS, telling 'friends' in a letter that the "fundamental building blocks of democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner".

Though Senthil stated it was a personal decision, he said in a letter to 'friends' that he feels it is unethical for him to continue as a civil servant in the government when the "fundamental building blocks of democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner".

He said the resignation was not in any way connected to any event or a particular person.

Senthil is the second IAS officer to quit the service citing similar reasons. In August, IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan from the AGMUT cadre, who came into the limelight for his anonymous participation in the flood relief efforts in Kerala last year, resigned from service saying he wanted his freedom of expression back.

Gopinathan, a native of Puthuppally in Kerala's Kottayam district, alleged that he did not even have the freedom to voice his opinions and that he was resigning to regain that right.

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.

"I chose the IAS to become the voice of the masses. Now, my own voice is curtailed. As an officer, I couldn't speak out on several matters. I want to regain that freedom through this resignation," he said. Sources close to him said Gopinathan resigned as he had no liberty to execute his plans.

Senthil tendered his resignation saying it was unethical to continue as a civil servant when "democracy was being compromised".

"I've taken decision as I think that it's unethical to continue as civil servant when fundamental building blocks of democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner," Senthil stated in his resignation letter.

"I also feel strongly that the coming days will present extremely difficult challenges to the basic fabric of our nation and that I would be better off outside the IAS to continue with my work at making life better for all," he said.

The officer, who hails from Tamil Nadu, also stated that the people and public representatives of Dakshina Kannada had been extremely kind to him and he owed them an apology for discontinuing his job midway.

The 40-year-old officer is an electronics engineering graduate from the Regional Engineering College of Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirapalli. He served as assistant commissioner in Ballari (2009-2012), chief executive officer of Shivamogga Zilla Panchayat for two terms and was also the deputy commissioner of Chitradurga and Raichur districts. Senthil, who was the director in the Mines and Geology department since November 2016, was posted to Dakshina Kannada in October 20, 2017.

The post of deputy commissioner is known as district collector in some other parts of the country.

In January, IAS officer Shah Faesal, who had been in the limelight since becoming the first Kashmiri to top the exam in 2009, resigned to protest the "unabated" killings in Kashmir and the marginalisation of Indian Muslims. He subsequently formed a political party, the J&K Peoples Movement.

(With inputs from PTI and The Week)

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