"All Bank Employees Must...": Siddaramaiah On 'Won't Speak Kannada' Video
The Bengaluru-based State Bank of India (SBI) official, who was seen refusing to speak Kannada in a viral video, has been transferred, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said. The Chief Minister said the behaviour of the SBI branch manager at Surya Nagara was "strongly condemnable" and stressed that "respecting local language is respecting the people".
In a post on X, Mr Siddaramiah said, "The behaviour of the SBI Branch Manager in Surya Nagara, Anekal Taluk, refusing to speak in Kannada & English and showing disregard to citizens, is strongly condemnable. We appreciate SBI's swift action in transferring the official. The matter may now be treated as closed."
The Chief Minister, known to back pro-Kannada organisations, said all bank employees in Karnataka must try to speak in Kannada. "However, such incidents must not recur. All bank employees must treat customers with dignity and make every effort to speak in the local language. I urge the @FinMinIndia & Dept of Financial Services to mandate cultural and language sensitisation training for all bank staff across India. Respecting local language is respecting the people," he said.
The SBI official's transfer follows the circulation of a viral video in which she is seen refusing to speak in Kannada as a customer insists. When the customer says, "this is Karnataka", she replies, "You have not given me employment". When the customer repeats, "This is Karnataka", she hits back, "This is India." She also says she won't "speak Kannada for you" and that she will "speak Hindi. The man recording the exchange said the SBI branch should be "taught a lesson".
The viral video and the action against the bank official have put the Kannada language row under the spotlight yet again. While pro-Kannada organisations argue that migrants working and living in Karnataka must learn the local language, others stress that no one should be forced to speak a language. The language row has often led to heated arguments in public, videos of which have gone viral and further stoked the debate.
The SBI official's remarks also drew sharp criticism from Tejasvi Surya, BJP MP from Bengaluru South. "This behaviour by @TheOfficialSBI Branch Manager is simply not acceptable. If you are doing customer interface work in Karnataka, especially in a sector like banking, it is important to communicate to customers in the language they know. Being adamant like this is simply not right," he said.
"I have time and again raised this issue of mandatorily posting local staff or staff who know the local language in banking operations, both inside and outside Parliament. Just a few weeks ago, at a Public Accounts Committee meeting, I had raised this issue to the DFS Secretary who assured me action will be taken to follow a office notification that makes this requirement of local language knowledge compulsory. Looks like this still isn't being enforced properly. I urge the concerned at @TheOfficialSBI to immediately implement the DFS policy that mandates local language requirement," he added.
"I have spoken to concerned authorities to take action against this manager who has behaved in this manner. Banks working in Karnataka should serve customers in Kannada. Period," he said.
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