Sasikanth Senthil formally joins Cong, says his goal is to uproot ‘anti-democratic force’

Chennai, Nov 9: More than a year after quitting his job to protest the Centre's anti-people policies, former Karnataka cadre IAS officer Sasikanth Senthil formally joined the Congress party in Chennai on Monday. 

Senthil joined the party in the presence of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee chief K S Alagiri, state incharge Dinesh Rao and All India Congress secretary Sanjay Dutt.

Senthil said that he found the Congress the “right vehicle” to continue his path to find a “political solution to end the anti-pluralistic force that poses an egregious threat to the very concept of India.”

“I will concentrate on touring various parts of Tamil Nadu to campaign for the Congress, the DMK, and the allies for the forthcoming 2021 polls,” he said.

Senthil said his ultimate goal was to bring democratic forces - including political parties, civil societies and institutions - and peace-loving individuals together to “uproot the anti-democratic force” from the seat of power in the 2024 elections.

There were signs of "the beginning of the end of the fascist government" and the voice against such anti-pluralistic force was heard now unlike earlier and it was growing strong.

He said Tamil Nadu is the last frontier for the BJP party. “They were trying to replicate their formula of polarisation to “divide and rule here. The state is unique, and it has intellectual clarity on what is important and what is not. They differentiate politics and religion. It had overcome the ideological attacks six decades ago. So, it is difficult for the BJP to grow here,” he said.

Tamil people have always believed in social equality and would sacrifice anything to see their children in schools. However, the saffron party was trying to create issues to stay in the limelight. And their true intention was to “take away the pen, pencil and book from the hands of the child and give them vel and trishul” in the name of religion, he said, in reference to BJP’s Vel Yatra.

Recalling his recent meeting with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, he said, “He has the ingredient of a leader, who listens to people and is open for dialogue.” “There are different shades of bureaucrats. But many in the system are peace-loving people, who respect and admire the diversity of the country,” he replied to a question on former Karnataka cadre IPS officer K Annamalai joining the BJP.