Thrissur: The UDF on Saturday criticised the Kerala government for taking disciplinary action against a teacher of an aided school who publicly opposed the introduction of Zumba dance in state-run schools.

Acting on instructions from the general education department, the school management in Palakkad had suspended the teacher pending inquiry after he put up a social media post criticising Zumba.

Speaking to the media, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan said it was unjust to suspend a teacher for expressing an opinion. He also alleged selective action by the government, pointing out that no steps were taken against another teacher who had shared a controversial “kafir” screenshot during the Lok Sabha election period, because the latter was a CPM member.

“It’s not right to pressure school management to suspend someone for voicing a personal view,” Satheesan said, urging the government to withdraw the action, which he termed “not good for Kerala.”

The Zumba programme was introduced in schools this academic year on the directive of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who said it would help reduce stress among students and combat drug abuse.

Despite objections raised by some Muslim organisations, the Kerala government has maintained it will continue offering Zumba training as part of its anti-drug initiative.