Two Karnataka government teachers suspended over participation in RSS route marches

Two government school teachers in Karnataka’s Yadgir district have been suspended pending departmental inquiry for participating in RSS route marches. The Education Department said their participation prima facie violated Karnataka Civil Services Conduct Rules, despite both teachers describing the events as cultural

Yadgir (Karnataka): Two government school teachers in Yadgir district have been suspended pending departmental inquiry for participating in RSS Patha Sanchalana, with the Education Department holding that their participation prima facie violated provisions of the Karnataka Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 2021.

The orders were issued on August 20 by Yadgir Deputy Director of School Education Channabasappa Mudhol against Gururaj Joshi, an assistant teacher at Government Girls’ High School in Hunasagi, and Anna Saheb Deshmukh, head teacher of Government Lower Primary School at Kuppi in Surpur taluk.

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The proceedings said the teachers’ participation in the RSS Patha Sanchalana (route marches) amounted to dereliction of duty and violated rules of the Karnataka Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 2021.

The order said, “Your participation in the RSS Patha Sanchalana prima facie amounts to dereliction of duty and violation of Rules 3(1), 3(2), 3(3), 5(1) and 7 of the KCS Rules.” According to the proceedings, Joshi was reported to have participated in an RSS Patha Sanchalana held at Talikoti in Vijayapura district on October 12, 2025, with a photograph of his participation appearing in ‘Vijaya Karnataka’. A complaint seeking disciplinary action was subsequently submitted by Jumanna Gudimani, district president of Ambedkar Swabhimani Sene.

The department said a show-cause notice was issued to Joshi on March 13, 2026. In his written explanation, he maintained that the programme was held on a Sunday, outside working hours, and was not political but a cultural programme.

The department rejected the explanation, saying it could not be accepted under the rules. Joshi has been suspended under Rule 10(1) of the Karnataka Civil Services (Classification, Control and Appeal) Rules, 1957, pending a departmental inquiry.

He will be entitled to subsistence allowance under Rule 98 of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules and cannot leave his headquarters without written permission from the competent authority.

In Deshmukh’s case, the proceedings said he had participated in an RSS Patha Sanchalana held at Hunasagi on October 10, 2025. Gudimani had complained to Rural Development and Panchayat Raj and Information Technology Minister Priyank Kharge, who is also Kalaburagi district in-charge minister, seeking action against him.

The department said a show-cause notice was issued to Deshmukh, who similarly contended in his written statement that the RSS programme was not held during working hours and was a cultural rather than political programme.

The department rejected the explanation and ordered his suspension pending departmental inquiry. Both orders state that government employees cannot be members of political parties or organisations involved in politics, associate themselves with such organisations or participate in agitations, and stress that teachers are expected to be role models for society and the Education Department.