West Bengal’s BJP government plans to bar newly recruited government school teachers from engaging in active politics, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said after a Cabinet meeting. The restriction will apply to future recruits through the School Service Commission (SSC), while existing teachers already involved in politics will not be affected, he said.

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Adhikari said the decision had been added to the SSC recruitment process. He said the government was not curtailing the rights of teachers already associated with politics. Those appointed in future, however, would not be able to take part in direct politics.

School Education Minister Dipak Burman backed the move. He argued that teachers who want to contest elections or enter active politics should leave the profession, as other government employees do. Burman said similar practices exist in several states and argued teachers should not be subject to a separate rule.

Opposition parties and teacher organisations have criticised the decision, calling it an assault on teachers’ democratic rights. Their objections focus on making political activity a condition of future recruitment, even though existing teachers are excluded from the restriction.

The announcement has renewed debate over the political rights of teachers entering government service. The government says the rule applies only to new recruits, while critics argue that it still limits the democratic rights of those seeking teaching jobs.