Overview
- The state cabinet approved the policy at a meeting on Wednesday that the chief minister chaired and publicly announced the decision the same day.
- The restriction will apply prospectively to teachers appointed through the West Bengal School Service Commission and will bar them from running for panchayat, municipal, state Assembly or Lok Sabha seats while in service.
- Existing teachers who already hold elected office or who are serving will be exempt from the new rule, which the government says will be written into SSC recruitment norms before it takes effect.
- The CPI(M) has said it will challenge the measure in court and some serving teachers warned the rule could face legal obstacles because current state laws do not explicitly ban teachers from political activity.
- The announcement was part of a broader cabinet package that approved roughly 1,199 new posts and set a November 5 date to unveil the state's new industrial policy while the chief minister linked the move to a push to restore educational standards and accountability.