CHENNAI: Former IAS officer Santhosh Babu, who took voluntary retirement after opposing alleged violations in BharatNet tender, joined actor Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam on Tuesday. He was appointed as the party's headquarters general secretary.
Meeting reporters for the first time post retirement, the 1995-batch IAS officer who helmed the TN Fibrenet Corporation (TANFINET) between 2018-19 in his capacity as principal secretary, Information Technology department, said the issues surrounding BharatNet tender was the triggering point for quitting service. Asked about the extent of the scam, he said, "Until now, there is no scam in the (2,000 crore) BharatNet project." Santhosh Babu said it was Kamal Haasan's upright approach that attracted him to MNM.
‘Our potential is world class but thinking is low’
The officer who hails from Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala had put up a tough fight with the political executives to prevent loot under the guise of implementing the project. He refused to tweak the tender norms. When the going got tough, he resigned in August. Finally, Centre stepped in and put brakes on the tender.
He told reporters that there was pressure from the power centres, but refused to elaborate, saying, “You (journalists) know better”.
Noting that he had plans to go to the Centre on deputation, he said after the issue cropped up, he was neither able to implement the ambitious project nor was he able to go to the Centre on deputation.
With an upright leader at the top, the bureaucracy in the state can do wonders, he said. “Our potential is high and world class, but our thinking is low,” he summed up about the bureaucracy.
Haasan welcomed Babu into the party and handed over the party membership card. “We have created an environment to attract talented and honest persons into the party,” Haasan said.
Haasan criticised the Narendra Modi government’s way of handling the farmers’ protest in Delhi and compared it to Nero fiddling while Rome burned. Modi should turn around and see what was happening in the country and he should hold dialogues with the protesters, he said. The issue should not be handled in a reckless manner, he said.
On Rajinikanth’s possibility of entering politics, he said he would put Rajini’s health on top of the priority list rather than his political moves. Kamal said he would seek his “good friend” Rajinikanth’s support for his party if the latter did not take political plunge.
Kamal expressed displeasure over the handling of cyclone Nivar by the Edappadi K Palaniswami government.