Kamal Nath says he has forgiven teacher who badmouthed him

The suspension of a school headmaster for making a derogatory comment about Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has been revoked on Nath's instructions.

In a statement, Nath said he has forgiven the teacher.

The district collector suspended Mukesh Tiwari, headmaster of government-run Kanishta Buniyadi Middle School in Jabalpur, Thursday.

Tiwari had allegedly referred to Nath as a "daku" (dacoit) during a meeting at the school. He was suspended by collector Chhavi Bharadwaj after a video where he is purportedly seen making the comment appeared on social media.

Nath said in a statement Saturday that after he learnt about the incident, he directed the officials to revoke Tiwari's suspension.

"I have always been in favour of freedom of expression....the action against him might be correct according to the rules but I am personally forgiving him," the chief minister said.

"I have directed the district administration to revoke the suspension....He (teacher) should decide for himself whether he used right words for a democratically-elected chief minister," Nath added.

Collector Bharadwaj told PTI that the teacher apologised in response to a show-cause notice, and the chief minister too directed that he should be let off, so the suspension has been revoked.