Joshi on Friday demanded that the suspensions be withdrawn, arguing that participation in RSS activities did not justify disciplinary action. Karnataka Home Minister Priyank Kharge defended the government’s position, questioning why government employees should participate in programmes organised by what he described as an “unregistered organisation”.
The Education Department suspended 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. Both schools are in Yadgir district. Suspension orders were issued on August 20 by Yadgir Deputy Director of School Education Channabasappa Mudhol, pending departmental inquiries.
Departmental proceedings said the teachers’ participation prima facie violated provisions of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules, 2021. The orders cited Rules 3, 3, 3, 5 and 7, while describing their conduct as a possible dereliction of duty.
Joshi rejected that reasoning and accused the Congress government of pursuing the teachers because of their association with RSS activities. He said courts had previously intervened when government employees faced restrictions over participation in RSS programmes and predicted that the suspensions would not survive judicial scrutiny.
“The suspension order will be struck down in court,” Joshi said while criticising what he described as vindictive action. He also questioned the government’s priorities and contrasted the disciplinary proceedings against the teachers with other issues confronting the administration.
Kharge said the Education Department was entitled to act on complaints against employees when it believed service rules had been breached. He maintained that the decision fell within the department’s administrative authority and asked why government employees should participate in programmes associated with an organisation that he has repeatedly criticised for being unregistered.
The dispute follows a broader confrontation between Kharge and the RSS. A day earlier, he challenged the organisation to formally register itself and offered to pay the registration fee. His criticism has drawn repeated responses from BJP leaders, who maintain that the RSS operates independently of political parties and should not be treated as a political organisation for the purpose of restricting government employees.
The proceedings against Gururaj Joshi relate to his participation in an RSS Patha Sanchalana at Talikoti in Vijayapura district on October 12, 2025. His participation came to the attention of authorities after a photograph appeared in a local newspaper and a complaint seeking disciplinary action was filed.
A show-cause notice was issued to Joshi on March 13, 2026. He told the department that the programme was conducted on a Sunday, outside working hours, and argued that it was a cultural event rather than a political activity. Authorities rejected his explanation and subsequently placed him under suspension pending an inquiry.
Joshi was suspended under Rule 10 of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules, 1957. He remains entitled to subsistence allowance during the suspension period and requires written permission from the competent authority to leave his headquarters.
Deshmukh faces similar proceedings over participation in an RSS route march held at Hunasagi on October 10, 2025. A complaint concerning his participation was submitted to Kharge seeking action. Deshmukh also argued that the programme took place outside working hours and was cultural rather than political, but the Education Department rejected his explanation.
The suspension orders emphasise restrictions on government employees becoming members of political parties, associating with organisations involved in politics or participating in political activities and agitations. They also stress the department’s position that teachers have a special responsibility because they are expected to serve as role models.
BJP leaders have challenged the application of those provisions to RSS programmes. BJP MLA Mahesh Tenginkai described the suspensions as politically motivated and argued that people affiliated with different parties could participate in RSS activities because the organisation was independent of any political party.
Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy also questioned the disciplinary action, asking what serious offence the teachers had committed by attending the marches and whether their participation had caused violence, damage or disruption.
The disagreement has consequently moved beyond the individual disciplinary cases to the interpretation of service rules governing political neutrality. The departmental inquiries will have to determine whether participation in the two RSS marches constituted prohibited political association under Karnataka’s conduct regulations, while the suspended teachers retain the option of challenging the disciplinary action through administrative or judicial channels.
