Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. (Express file photo) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath. (Express file photo)

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has pardoned the headmaster of a government primary school in Jabalpur who was suspended by the district administration for calling him a “daaku” (dacoit).

In a video that went viral early last week, Mukesh Tiwari was heard calling the Chief Minister names while addressing a handful of people.

After a complaint from a Congress leader, Jabalpur Collector Chhavi Bharadwaj suspended the headmaster on Thursday for violating conduct rules.

After the Chief Minister came to know about it on Saturday, he ordered that the suspension be revoked. “I have always been a votary of freedom of speech. It is true that his behavior may have been a violation of conduct rules which earned him suspension. He must have toiled hard to reach this position. His family must be dependent on him. His suspension could put them in difficulty,” he said.

“His suspension must have been justified according to rules but at personal level I want to pardon him and don’t want any action against him. A teacher’s job is to provide good education to students. I hope he would focus on his duties in future,” he said in a message on Saturday, adding that he has instructed the Jabalpur district administration to end his suspension immediately. “He should reflect on whether what he said about a democratically elected Chief Minister is true.”

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