New Delhi: A Karnataka government school teacher received a suspension after he used social media to criticise Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his government’s policies. The suspension decision was issued on the same day (Saturday) that Siddaramaiah took his oath as state chief minister.
Shantanamurthy MG, a school teacher from Chitradurga district, spoke on Facebook about the stress placed on the state as a result of the government’s freebies. According to the post, “the debt was 3,590 crore when SM Krishna was the CM.The debt was 15,635, 3,545, 25,653, 9,464 and 13, 464 crores during the tenures of Dharam Singh, HD Kumaraswamy, BS Yediyurappa, Sadananada Gowda, and Jagadish Shettar, respectively. During Siddaramaiah’s term, however, the state debt reached 2,42,000 crores.”
He received a suspension order from the concerned authority shortly after sharing the post on his Facebook account for allegedly breaking the state’s civil services conduct guidelines. A departmental investigation into Santhamurthy’s actions has also been ordered.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Saturday that the Congress government has in principle accepted the five guarantees stated in the party’s manifesto prior to the elections, as promised.
The Congress won 135 seats in the 224-member Karnataka Assembly elections on May 10, defeating the ruling BJP, which won 66 seats, and the Janata Dal (Secular), which won 19. The results were announced on May 13.
