Karnataka: CM Siddaramaiah Orders Crackdown On Social Media Posts, Days After Teacher Suspended For Criticising Him On Facebook

Speaking to senior police officers in the conference hall at Vidhana Soudha Tuesday (23 May), Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah urged strict legal action against disturbing, inflammatory, and provocative posts on social media.

This holds significance as it comes only three days after a government school teacher in Karnataka was suspended for criticising Siddaramaiah in a social media post over his freebie policies.

The day of Shanthamurthy M G's suspension coincided with Siddaramaiah's appointment as Chief Minister.

Siddaramaiah had accumulated the most debt among previous Karnataka chief ministers, noted Shanthamurthy on Facebook.

The teacher noted that state loans rose from Rs 71,331 crore under chief ministers S M Krishna to Jagadish Shettar, to Rs 242,000 crore during Siddaramaiah's tenure (2013-2018).

"Hence it is easy for him to announce freebies," he said.

The state education department suspended Shanthamurthy for his Facebook post.