On May 22, Karnataka’s newly appointed cabinet minister and Congress leader Priyank Kharge said that the education department suspended the school teacher for ‘breaking service standards’ after he criticised new state Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. He added that the newly formed state government has nothing to do with the suspension.
Congress responds to the controversy surrounding the teacher's suspension. Congress leader Priyank Kharge said that it's the education department that has taken action and not the government.@KeypadGuerilla shares more details with @kritsween. pic.twitter.com/tTf2fhBJ8Y
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) May 22, 2023
Speaking to the media, Kharge said, “I am not aware of the details of the post. We need to underline what kind of critical judgment has been posted on it. But if there is some malicious intent or there was some other way he wanted to communicate we will investigate it. If it is against the service rules, the department has to take action. It is nothing that the government initiated the action. The department has done so.”
Notably, the education department in Karnataka is not an autonomous body. It comes directly under the state government. Saying that the education department initiated the action and the government has nothing to do with it, seems a little strange in that scenario.
School teacher suspended allegedly for criticising Siddaramaiah-led Congress govt
On May 20, a primary school teacher identified as Shanthamurthy MG from the Hosadurga region of Chitradurga district was suspended after he shared a message on social media platforms criticising CM Siddaramaiah and his new government in the state of Karnataka.
In his post on Facebook, Shanthamurthy talked about the burden the state would face due to the freebies announced by the government. Soon after publishing the post, Field Education Officer L Jayappa sent him suspension orders. Additionally, a departmental investigation of Santhamurthy’s actions has been initiated.
