Anant Kumar Hegde is known for his rash and sometimes outrageous comments. (File photo)
Former Union minister Anant Kumar Hegde, known for his outrageous remarks, on Monday accused the Karnataka bureaucrat who quit, flagging concerns on democracy, of "treason". Deputy Commissioner S Sasikanth Senthil was the second bureaucrat to quit. Last month, IAS officer Kannan Gopinathan resigned from the Dadra and Nagar Haveli administration in protest against the government's unprecedented move on Jammu and Kashmir.
On Monday, Mr Hegde posted a video statement on Twitter. The accompanying message read, "Serving the government & yet questioning people representative's decision taken as per constitutional norms, besides labelling it as fascist amounts to nothing less than #Rajadroha!"
Mr Senthil quit on Friday, saying in an open letter that it was "unethical" for him to continue to work for the government when the "fundamental building blocks of democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner ".
Apologising to the people for "discontinuing the job", he wrote, "It simply cannot be business as usual anymore".
"I also feel strongly that the coming days will present extremely difficult challenges to the basic fabric of our nation and that I would be better off outside the IAS to continue with my work at making life better for all," the letter read.
Mr Senthil's resignation was preceded by similar steps by two other IAS officers, who flagged Jammu and Kashmir.
In January, Shah Faesal, the first Kashmiri to top the civil services exam in 2009, resigned to protest what he called "unabated" killings in Kashmir and the marginalisation of Indian Muslims.
In August, Kannan Gopinathan resigned to protest what he claimed was the denial of fundamental rights to lakhs of people in Jammu and Kashmir.
His step came amid massive security restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir after the government decided to end special status to the state under Article 370 and split it into two Union Territories.
Mr Hegde is known for his rash and sometimes outrageous comments. In May, while the national elections were still in progress, he tweeted, "Am glad that 7 decades later today's generation debates in a changed perceptional environment and gives good scope for the condemned to be heard upon. #NathuramGodse would have finally felt happy with this debate!"
As part of the damage control measures, the BJP chief Amit Shah had demanded that he give an explanation. No action, however, was taken against him.