MP govt suspends primary school teacher for mimicking PM over LPG prices in video

Shivpuri: A government school teacher in Madhya Pradesh's Shivpuri district was suspended after a video of him mimicking Prime Minister Narendra Modi while making satirical remarks on LPG cylinder prices went viral on social media, an official said on Saturday. Saket Purohit, a teacher at the government primary school in Adivasi Mohalla Semarkhedi under Pohri block, was suspended with immediate effect late Friday night under the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services Rules, District Education Officer Vivek Srivastava told PTI.

In the video, Purohit can be heard stating that an increase in gas prices would make people return to eating rotis cooked on traditional stoves, which would narrow the gap between the rich and the poor. The probe by the district education office began after the video went viral, resulting in the submission of a written complaint by Pichhore BJP MLA Preetam Lodhi.

In his complaint, Lodhi claimed such remarks and mimicry of the prime minister and public representatives by a government teacher violated service conduct rules and conveyed an inappropriate message to society.

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Purohit was placed under suspension after the inquiry found that his act was contrary to the conduct rules applicable to government servants, Srivastava informed. During the suspension period, Purohit would be posted at the block education office in Badarwas, and he would be entitled to subsistence allowance as per rules, the official added.

A defiant Purohit, however, told reporters the action of suspending him was one-sided and that he neither received a show-cause notice nor was he given an opportunity to present his side. "Action taken without a hearing is not justified," Purohit claimed.