Bengaluru: In just a matter of over two weeks, a second Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer has resigned, citing disillusionment with the state of democracy in the country.
On Friday, Karnataka IAS officer and Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner S. Sasikanth Senthil submitted his resignation from the service.
“I have taken this decision as I feel 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,” Senthil wrote in his 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. It simply cannot be business as usual anymore,” he added.
However, in a seeming contradiction, Senthil claimed that his decision to quit was purely a personal one.
Sources close to Senthil said the IAS officer’s resignation came as a shock as he had not given any indication of the extent of his disillusionment. But officials at the Mangaluru DC office said Senthil has been on leave for a week.
An engineer by profession, the 2009-batch IAS officer hails from Tamil Nadu. He completed his B.E. (Electronics) from the Regional Engineering College of Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli.
He has served as assistant commissioner in Bellary and deputy commissioner of Chitradurga and Raichur districts.
Spate of resignations
On 21 August, IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan also resigned from the service, citing the clampdown in Jammu and Kashmir after the abrogation of Article 370.
Gopinathan was secretary, power department of the Union territories of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Earlier in May, a senior Karnataka Indian Police Service (IPS) officer K. Annamalai resigned from the service. Popular for his policing innovations, the IPS officer quit the service as he felt he could do better for the society outside the service.
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