S Sasikanth Senthil, the former Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer, joined the Congress party in Chennai on November 9, a year after he quit the civil service alleging that Indian democracy’s fundamental building blocks were being compromised. Senthil joined the grand old party in the presence of state unit president K S Alagiri, All India Congress Committee in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Dinesh Gundu Rao and AICC secretaries, Sanjay Dutt and Sirivella Prasad at the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee headquarters Sathyamurthy Bhavan.
Thiru @s_kanth joined @INCIndia in presence of TNCC Incharge @dineshgrao PCC President @KS_Alagiri in Sathyamurthy Bhavan today.
— Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (@INCTamilNadu) November 9, 2020
We whole heartedly welcome Thiru Sasi Kanth Senthil IAS to our Congress family. #WelcomeSasiKanth @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi @kcvenugopalmp pic.twitter.com/2hDYCZUK9b
Senthil believes Congress understands the challenges faced by the country
A day prior to the event, Senthil had posted a note on Twitter on November 8 (Sunday), announcing his decision to join the Congress. He spoke about how the country was under “totalitarian attack” and added that Congress understood the challenges being faced by the country and was ready to find solutions along with the people.
I would like to inform all that I have decided to join the Congress party in my effort to continue the fight. I have been an activist trying to be a voice for the less privileged all through my life, wherever I was and would continue the same until my last breath. pic.twitter.com/na3fMn4ueM
— sashikanth senthil (@s_kanth) November 8, 2020
The 41-year old former officer joined the civil service in 2009 and belonged to the Karnataka cadre. He quit service last September alleging, “the fundamental building blocks of our diverse democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner.”
S Sasikanth Senthil-a harch critic of BJP government
Santhil has been a harsh critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government ever since he quit civil service in September last year, in “search of a method to stem the totalitarian attack on the country that I so dearly love.”
Speaking at a mass protests held against Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Population Register (NPR) by Citizenship Protection in January 2020, the former IAS officer had said the “after the implementation of CAA and NRC the nation is observing an emergency like situation”. He had alleged that PM Modi and HM Amit Shah were playing with people’s emotions.
Former IAS officer declares of starting non-cooperative movement if CAA is not revoked
Launching an attack at the BJP government, Senthil had said that that “current government and the leaders at the centre are fascists. We cannot expect anything more than terms like ‘Pakistan’, ‘terrorism’ and ‘Hindus’ from such people. He has tried to spread fear and mislead people by saying that the “CAA has affected the Muslim community today and will affect the Dalits and the backward classes in the future”. He had then declared that if the BJP government does not revoke the Act, he will have to once again start Mahatma Gandhi’s non-cooperative movement.
Congress to launch the former IAS officer on a national level
Santhil’s decision to take a political plunge comes when Tamil Nadu is gearing up for the Assembly elections next year, and political activities are picking up.
Speaking on the induction of the former IAS officer into the Congress party, the AICC in-charge of Tamil Nadu affairs Dinesh Gundu Rao said: “Senthil is sick of the strife among communities, violence over religious issues, and the BJP’s policies. He wants to join efforts to unify the country. He has already discussed his ideas with Rahul Gandhi. The party will make use of him at the national level”.
