'Will never speak Kannada’: SBI manager triggers row over language
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Photo courtesy of The Free Press Journal
Bengaluru: Tempers rose at a State Bank of India (SBI) branch in Karnataka when the bank manager and a customer argued over choice of language.
It all began when a customer who arrived at the Chandapura branch of the bank insisted the manager speak official language of Karnataka—Kannada, The Free Press Journal reported
The incident, caught on camera, showed the customer, speaking Kannada, urging the manager to respond in the same language.
However, the woman officer went on speaking Hindi triggering a verbal standoff between them.
The customer was seen telling the manager repeatedly that she was in Karnataka: ‘This is Karnataka, madam’.
To which the manager curtly responded, ‘So? This is India.’
The customer referred to RBI guidelines for conversing in local language during customer interactions.
The manager stubbornly responded: ‘You have not given me employment,’ and went on to say that ‘I will never speak Kannada’.
To which the customer to respond sarcastically, ‘Super, madam, super.’
Though arguing for several minutes both parties refused to budge with the manager kept repeating ‘ Hindi’, while the customer holding on to ‘ Kannada’.
Kannada activists groups expressed anger at the incident demanding action against the official, and announced a protest as well.
