IAS officer U. Sagayam on Sunday hinted at taking up electoral politics but left the decision to the people, saying he had entered politics the day he started opposing corruption in the government departments.
Speaking at an event here, Mr. Sagayam, who was appointed Legal Commissioner by the Madras High Court to probe illegal granite mining in Madurai, said, “I know how much politics is rooted in corruption and how deep the tentacles of corruption run. This has to be completely uprooted.”
According to him, “only people who have great capacity can do that [uproot corruption]. That capacity and talent can be found in society only. The day my society wakes up, progress will start taking place and I have great hope that society will one day wake up.”
He added: “I might be an officer. I might be bound by rules and regulations. But the day a person opposes corruption in the government departments, it means that person is in politics. Does it have to be electoral politics? Let my society decide that.”
Mr. Sagayam recalled that many years ago, as District Revenue Officer, he had sealed Pepsico’s factory in Mamandur and had banned the company’s soft drinks from being sold in the district. He said when he went back home after sealing the factory, his wife had panicked, as secretaries from the Chief Minister’s office, Chief Secretary, Home Secretary, and the Collector had called his house and asked about his whereabouts.
“Those were the days when telephone connections were rare,” he said. Following this, he was transferred 20 times.
