IAS officer's resignation takes political hue, Congress protests
Bengaluru, Sept 6: The resignation of IAS officer and Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner (DC) S Sasikanth Senthil on Friday took on a political colour with Congress leaders seeking to target the BJP-led NDA government.
Congress leaders, including Legislative Council member Ivan D'Souza and workers staged a protest in Mangaluru against Senthil quitting from the Indian Administrative Service.
Veteran Congress leader M Mallikarjun Kharge termed the resignation as an "indicator of the way India is moving".
"Democratic values are in danger and things are not happening according to the constitutional provisions.
Hence,there is dejection.
These IAS officers function directly come under the Central government. That's the reason that he(Senthil) has resigned," Kharge claimed while talking to reporters here.
He also alleged that institutions like the Income Tax, Central Bureau of Investigation, Central Vigilance Commission and the judiciary were losing their "independence" due to the interference of the central government.
BJP leader and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister K S Eshwarappa sought "clarity" from Senthil on his resignation.
"I want to ask (from the officer) in clear terms, make your intentions clear.Please don't give confusing statements," Eshwarappa told reporters when his reaction was sought.
"If the officers do not cite a clear reason, then it will lead to chaos and confusion across the state",Eshwarappa said, adding, it would also damage the reputation of the officer.
In a letter to his 'friends', Senthil confirmed that he had tendered his resignation from IAS and clarified that the decision was purely a personal one.
"I have taken this decision as I feel that 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,'' he said.
Senthil also said he feels strongly that the coming days will present extremely difficult challenges to the basic fabric of the nation and that he would be better off outside the IAS to continue with his work at making life better for all.
"It simply cannot be business as usual anymore," he remarked.
Senthil said his decision to resign was in no way connected to anyone or any event in his current profile as the Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district.
"The people and the public representatives of DK (Dakshina Kannada) have been extremely kind to me and I owe an apology to them for discontinuing the job vested on me midway," he said in the letter.
Senthil, who belongs to Tamil Nadu, is a 2009 batch IAS officer.
He was made Deputy Commissioner of Dakshina Kannada in 2017.
He previously served as Deputy Commissioner in other parts of the state, including Raichur.
The post of deputy commissioner is known as District Collector in some other parts of the country.
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Hamas accepts cease-fire proposal for Gaza, but Israel's stance still uncertain
Jerusalem, May 6: Hamas announced Monday it has accepted an Egyptian-Qatari cease-fire proposal, but there was no immediate word from Israel, leaving it uncertain whether a deal had been sealed to bring a halt to the seven-month-long war in Gaza.
It was the first glimmer of hope that a deal might avert further bloodshed. Hours earlier, Israel ordered some 100,000 Palestinians to begin evacuating the southern Gaza town of Rafah, signalling that an attack was imminent. The United States and other key allies of Israel oppose an offensive on Rafah, where around 1.4 million Palestinians, more than half of Gaza's population, are sheltering.
An official familiar with Israeli thinking said Israeli officials were examining the proposal, but the plan approved by Hamas was not the framework Israel proposed.
An American official also said the US was still waiting to learn more about the Hamas position and whether it reflected an agreement to what had already been signed off on by Israel and international negotiators or something else. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity as a stance was still being formulated.
Details of the proposal have not been released. Touring the region last week, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had pressed Hamas to take the deal, and Egyptian officials said it called for a cease-fire of multiple stages starting with a limited hostage release and some Israeli troop pullbacks from Gaza. The two sides would also negotiate a “permanent calm” that would lead to a full hostage release and greater Israeli withdrawal, they said.
