SBI Staff In 'Won't Speak Kannada' Video Transferred. Siddaramaiah Slams Her
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 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.…
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) May 21, 2025
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
&w=3840&q=100)
First Post
27 minutes ago
- First Post
Putin wants puppet govt in Moldova to deploy troops in breakaway region Transnistria, warns PM
Moldova's Prime Minister Dorin Recean has warned that Vladimir Putin wants to install a puppet government in the country so it can strengthen Russia's hold on the breakaway region of Transnistria. read more Vladimir Putin wants to install a puppet government in Moldova so it can strengthen Russia's hold on the breakaway region of Transnistria, the country's premier has warned. Moldova is sandwiched between Ukraine to the north, east, and south, and Romania to the west. Its border region of Transnistria has been controlled by a pro-Russia regime since 1990. With the Russian backing, the separatists fought and won a brief war with Moldova in 1992. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Ahead of elections in the country in September, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean has told Financial Times that Putin is interfering in the country's politics so that he could replace the pro-European Union (EU) government with a pro-Russia, puppet government. If such a puppet government is elected, Putin would deploy 10,000 soldiers in Transnistria, said Recean. 'This is a huge effort to undermine Moldovan democracy' Recean has said that Putin's plot is a bid to undermine Moldova's democracy. 'This is a huge effort to undermine Moldovan democracy. They want to consolidate their military presence in the Transnistrian region,' said Reacan. Since 1992, when Russia intervened in favour of the separatist regime, its soldiers have been stationed in Transnistria. The number, however, is relatively small and it is not easy to deploy more soldiers as the region is landlocked and has no direct road link to Russia. Recean further said, 'You can imagine with 10,000 troops, what the leverage and pressure would be on the south-western part of Ukraine, but also close to Romania, which is a Nato member state.' Russia has long had eyes on Moldova This is not the first time that Russian interference has been reported in Moldova, formerly a part of the Soviet Union. In last year's referendum about the European Union (EU) membership, unprecedented Russian interference was reported in the form of propaganda dissemination, buying people's votes, and subversive activities like cyberattacks. A narrow majority of people voted to make way for Moldova's EU membership. The process to join the EU began last year and is expected to be completed by 2028-29. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD For years, analysts have warned that Moldova could be the next target of Russian aggression after Ukraine as it is a former Soviet republic in Russia's extended neighbourhood and is neither a member of Nato nor the EU. This means the country has no external security blanket like some other countries in Russia's neighbourhood or extended neighbourhood, such as Finland and Romania. Moreover, unlike Ukraine, Moldova has a very small and poorly armed and trained military that is unlikely to withstand any invasion. The country is therefore considered a soft target for Russia.
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
India's neighbor finds JACKPOT worth Rs 80000 crore! The treasure is..., US, China are interested due to...
Representational Image/AI-generated. Pakistan gold deposits: In some rare piece of good news for Pakistan, India's enemy next door has reportedly discovered huge deposits of placer gold in Attock and Mansehra districts in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, respectively, estimated to be worth a staggering Rs 80,000 crore. As per Pakistani media reports, the state-owned National Engineering Services Pakistan (NESPAK) has reportedly discovered a huge placer gold deposit has been found on the banks of the Indus River in Attock district. Pakistani scientists have claimed the the placer gold deposit in Attock is estimated to be worth around $9.6 billion (about Rs 80,000 crore). US and China eyeing Pakistan's treasure? Meanwhile, the giant gold deposit has captured the attention of investors from all over the world, including those from China and the United States. Unconfirmed reports claim a Texas-based investor, Gentry Thomas, who is a friend of US President Donald Trump's son Donald Trump Jr, has already signed a deal in this regard with Apex Energy, a Pakistani private energy company. Under the agreement, the Pakistani and US firms will jointly conduct excavations to find gold deposits along the Indus River, according to reports. Extensive research was conducted in the Attock and Mansehra district which led to the discovery of placer gold deposits, reports said. Geologists used advanced geochemical and geophysical exploration techniques to find traces of gold deposits, while mining operations will be conducted over an area spanning 4579 square kilometers in Mansehra, and 6857 square kilometers in Attock district. Pakistan strikes gold in Gilgit Earlier this year, reports emerged that Pakistan has discovered larges reserves of gold, copper, nickel and cobalt in the Gilgit-Baltistan region. According to Pakistani media reports, at least ten mineral blocks have been discovered in Gilgit-Baltistan, where the presence of gold, copper, nickel and cobalt was confirmed during a state-funded survey. The reports further revealed that Pakistan is exploring potential mineral resources in Chiniot in Punjab province. As per a report by Pakistan-based Express Tribune, OGDCL is in talks with Punjab's Mineral Department to expedite the process. How placer gold deposits are formed? Placer gold deposits are formed when gold particles, along with other heavy minerals, are moved and sorted by natural forces like erosions and water flow, resulting in the gold being concentrated along places like riverbeds, beaches, and desert regions. This phenomenon takes millions of years, as the accumulated gold is slowly transported and deposited by water, wind, and other sources from the original source. Experts believe that the recent discoveries of gold and other rare minerals could provide a significant boost to the crumbling Pakistan economy which currently lies in tatters due to high inflation, food insecurity, and dwindling foreign exchange reserves.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
NIA raids 32 locations in J&K to probe conspiracy by Pak-based terror outfits
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) carried out searches at 32 locations across Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday to probe a conspiracy hatched by Pakistan-based terror outfits, officials said. The locations were residential premises of hybrid terrorists and overground workers associated with these Pakistan-based offshoots, such as The Resistance Front (TRF), United Liberation Front Jammu and Kashmir (ULFJ&K), Mujahideen Gazwat-ul-Hind (MGH), Jammu and Kashmir Freedom Fighters (JKFF), Kashmir Tigers, People's Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF) and others, they said. All of these outfits are affiliated to proscribed terrorist organisations, such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Al-Badr etc., the officials said. The raids were carried out in Pulwama, Kulgam, Shopian, Baramulla and Kupwara districts, they added. The searches were part of continuing investigations against a terror conspiracy hatched by Pakistan-backed proscribed terrorist organisations and their offshoots to destabilise Jammu and Kashmir, according to a statement issued by the NIA. Live Events "Thirty-two locations in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir were searched as part of today's crackdown," the statement said. The cadres and workers whose premises were searched are under the NIA's scanner for their involvement in supporting terror activities, such as facilitating terrorists, collection and distribution of sticky bombs or magnetic bombs, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), funds, narcotic substances and arms and ammunition, the statement said. According to the NIA investigations, these offshoots, supported by their leaders in Pakistan, have been conspiring to commit acts of terror and violence by radicalising local youngsters and mobilising overground workers to disturb peace and communal harmony in Jammu and Kashmir. The investigations have revealed that Pakistan-based operatives are using social media platforms and online apps to facilitate and promote terror, the NIA said. "Drones were being used by them to deliver arms/ammunition, explosives, narcotics etc. to their operatives and cadres in the Kashmir valley," the probe agency said. Two live cartridges, a fired bullet head and a bayonet were seized during the searches, it added. Besides, several digital devices containing large volumes of incriminating data and documents have been found by the NIA. These will be subjected to a thorough scrutiny by the agency to unravel the details of the terror conspiracy, the NIA said.
