ரூ. 2,441 கோடி மதிப்பிலான அதிவேக அலைக்கற்றை மற்றும் தடையில்லா இணைப்புத் திட்டத்திற்கு பொறுப்பான, ஐஏஎஸ் அதிகாரி சந்தோஷ்பாபு திடீரென விருப்ப...

DMK president M.K. Stalin demanded an immediate public clarification from Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami regarding the abrupt decision of senior IAS officer Santhosh Babu to seek voluntary retirement from service. Santhosh Babu, a widely respected bureaucrat who served as the Principal Secretary of the Information Technology Department, was directly supervising the implementation of the prestigious 2,441-crore rupee BharatNet broadband optical fiber connectivity project. Stalin questioned whether illicit political interference and intense pressure from the Information Technology Minister forced the upright officer into opting for early retirement.

Stalin pointed out that BharatNet is a crucial digital infrastructure project intended to deliver high-speed broadband internet connectivity to over 12,500 village panchayats across rural Tamil Nadu. Altering technical tender criteria to favor pre-selected private contractors compromises both project execution and public funds. When dedicated civil servants who resist questionable tender manipulations face harassment and administrative victimization, it demoralizes the entire state bureaucracy and breeds rampant administrative corruption.

Stalin demanded a transparent, independent investigation into the tender formulation process for the BharatNet project. He asserted that the state government must protect administrative ethics and bureaucratic independence. Stalin affirmed that public interest must prevail over corrupt private enrichment.