Former Karnataka IAS officer Sasikanth Senthil set to join Congress

Chennai, Nov 8: Former Karnataka-cadre IAS officer S Sasikanth Senthil, who resigned from civil services last year will join the Congress in Tamil Nadu on Monday, according to media reports.

“Yes. I have decided to take the political plunge. I will be joining the Congress,” Senthil, a 2009 batch officer, was quoted as saying by news papers.

The 41-year-old former bureaucrat will join the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee (TNCC) on Monday, sources said.

They said AICC in-charge for Tamil Nadu and Karnataka Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao was instrumental in bringing Senthil to the party fold.

He will release a formal statement as to why he chose Congress for his political plunge. Senthil's induction into the Congress in Tamil Nadu comes seven months before the state goes into its most-crucial elections in recent years.

The development comes months after Senthil's junior colleague and former IPS officer Annamalai took the political plunge in Tamil Nadu by joining the BJP. He is currently the vice-president of the state unit of BJP.

After resigning from civil services, Senthil has criticised the BJP-led Centre on a slew of issues. He tore into the Narendra Modi government on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and campaigned against it in several parts of the country.

Originally from Tamil Nadu, Senthil joined the IAS and served as Karnataka-cadre officer. He was the Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district when he resigned.

In his resignation letter, he said "it is unethical for me to continue as a civil servant in the government when the fundamental building blocks of our diverse democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner."

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