Sasikanth Senthil.
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New Delhi: Congress MP Sasikanth Senthil, a former Karnataka cadre IAS officer, on Thursday dismissed the allegations that he was behind a conspiracy to defame the religious town of Dharmasthala as “baseless”.
Senthil also warned Karnataka BJP MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy that he would be compelled to take legal action if he continues to defame him.
Senthil, who heads Congress National War Room and is considered a key poll strategist for the party during the Karnataka Legislative Assembly election in 2023, said he was “completely unaware” of all the developments in Dharmasthala and linking him to a criminal investigation is “actually an act of defamation”.
Reddy alleged that Senthil was the “director and scriptwriter” of the allegations of mass murders in Dharmasthala and claimed that a man linked to the case is close to him.
The Tiruvallur MP told DH that he thinks that Reddy may be making the allegations “just for some publicity” and may be he has an axe to grind as he was involved with the investigations into mining irregularities in Ballari as an assistant commissioner when he was posted there.
“I have no links with the developments in Dharmasthala and the ongoing investigations. I could have understood if there was an iota of a link. But I left the state (Karnataka) years ago, and I am no longer involved with the governance of Karnataka,” he said.
“Linking me just because I was posted in Dakshina Kannada district as deputy commissioner earlier is wrong. I resigned from service. Opposing the BJP doesn’t mean that you can level allegations,” he said.
“If he continues to do this, I think I will have to take legal recourse against him. I also request the media to do due diligence before giving credence to such allegations,” he said.