Criticizing Govt Unforgivable: Anant Kumar Hegde on Senthil

Hegde called the ex-officer a ‘gaddar’ and said he should have been sacked by the Centre for his “polluted mindset”.

BJP MP Anant Kumar Hegde has lashed out against him in a series of tweets, calling him a “traitor” and asking him to go to Pakistan for his comments against the centre.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Days after former IAS officer S Sasikanth Senthil resigned from his post as Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district, BJP MP Anant Kumar Hegde has lashed out against him in a series of tweets, calling him a “traitor” and asking him to go to Pakistan for his comments against the centre.

On 6 September, Senthil had tendered his resignation stating that it would be “unethical to continue... when the fundamental building blocks of our diverse democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner.”

Senthil’s resignation comes weeks after Kannan Gopinath, a civil servant from Kerala, stepped down to protest the denial of “freedom of expression” to the people of Jammu and Kashmir, on 21 August.

Earlier on 8 September, Hegde had called the ex-officer a ‘gaddar’ (traitor) and that he should have been sacked by the Centre as soon as his “polluted mindset” came to light.

Known for his controversial comments that have frequently embarrassed the BJP leadership, the latest dispatch from the 6-time MP from Dakshina Kannada has attracted widespread criticism.

“No Greater Act of Treachery”: Hegde

In a series of tweets, Hegde spoke about how Senthil’s resignation must not be viewed as a “small issue” but rather as an act of treachery against the State.

“As a member of the Indian civil services, he should not criticize and question a decision taken by the government, which has also been passed by the parliament. This amounts to treachery of the highest order against the State. The officers must behave in support of the government. The governor has the highest authority, this is also what the people want. Additionally, I don’t view his comments as being said in the spirit of freedom of speech, it is insolence and disobedience in the name of freedom. This leads to such disasters,” he said.

Hegde went on to say that the reasons behind Senthil’s comments must be investigated and the forces influencing his comments, must be brought out into the open.

“This is not just treachery against the country, but also the government. This is an unforgivable offence. For a serving IAS officer to criticize the government’s actions should not be permitted and it must never happen. It can be questioned if it goes against the Constitution but in this case, it shows the officer’s arrogance and disobedience,”

Anant Kumar Hegde

He demanded the government take swift action against Senthil for his remarks.

“The people need to know why he has resigned. It must come into the public domain,” he reiterated.

BJP Launches Attack

Not just former union minister Hegde, even BJP national general secretary BL Santhosh took to Twitter on 8 September to air his views on Senthil’s resignation.

Meanwhile, the Dakshina Kannada unit of BJP has reportedly demanded an investigation into his “affiliations”.

Soon after he quit last Friday, Chief Secretary TM Vijaya Bhaskar reportedly asked him to reconsider his resignation but to no avail.

(With inputs from The News Minute, The Hindu and The New Indian Express)