SBI Manager: A State Bank of India employee at the Surya Nagar branch in Anekal Taluk triggered a fresh language controversy in Karnataka by refusing to speak Kannada while interacting with a customer.

A video of the incident, now viral on social media, shows the female officer repeatedly rejecting the customer’s request to converse in the state’s official language. When the customer says, “This is Karnataka, madam,” the officer replies, “This is India.” She firmly states, “I will not speak Kannada for you. I’ll talk in Hindi.” As the exchange intensifies, she declares, “I will never speak Kannada,” and walks away.

Take a look at the video:

I WILL NOT SPEAK KANNADA IN KARNATAKA, NEVER, SPEAK IN HINDI.
@TheOfficialSBI Branch manager SBI, surya nagara, anekal taluk KARNATAKA
Your Branch manager and staff disrespect the Kannada language, imposing hindi on people of karnataka, misbehaving with customers,on duty times… pic.twitter.com/drD7L6Dydb

— ಗುರುದೇವ್ ನಾರಾಯಣ್ 💛❤️ GURUDEV NARAYAN🌿 (@Gurudevnk16) May 20, 2025

Karnataka CM Response:
On this issue, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah responded and said, “Strongly condemnable”. He wrote on his official x account, “The behaviour of the SBI Branch Manager in Surya Nagara, Anekal Taluk, refusing to speak in Kannada and English and showing disregard to citizens is strongly condemnable.”

He commended SBI for moving the person and asked the Finance Ministry to stop it from happening again. “Such occurrences must not happen again. Every bank staff is required to treat clients with respect and try their best to communicate in the local tongue. I implore the Department of Financial Services and the Finance Ministry to require language and cultural sensitivity training for all bank employees in India,” he continued.”Respecting the people means respecting the local language.”

Take a look at the post:

Manager’s Apology:
After the immediate response by the Chief Minister the manager who refused to talk in Kannada gave an apology in Kannada. She was seen talking in kannada and apologizing for the people who got hurt. She said, “If I have hurt anyone, I sincerely apologise. I’ll make an effort to do business in Kannada in the future.”

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Take a look at the video:

Yesterday, an SBI manager in Karnataka said: "I don’t need to know Kannada despite living in Karnataka."
Her apology today feels insincere & forced. @TheOfficialSBI Is this your training standard? Transfer her immediately & uphold respect for regional identity. #SBI #Kannada pic.twitter.com/tOHb9ZmL6E

— Pradeep M Nayak (@Pradeep17991054) May 21, 2025

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