Bengaluru entrepreneur decides to move office to Pune over 'language nonsense'
Kaushik Mukherjee said he was apprehensive that his non-Kannada-speaking staff may get affected by the row
Amid the ongoing language row in Karnataka following the controversy over an SBI staffer’s refusal to speak in Kannada to a customer, a tech company founder in Bengaluru has decided to move his office to Pune if the “language nonsense” continues in the state.
‘Next victim’
Entrepreneur Kaushik Mukherjee said in a post on X that he was apprehensive that his non-Kannada-speaking staff may get affected by the row, adding that he does not want them to become the “next victim.” He further stated in a social media post that the idea was proposed by his staff, and he agrees with them.
“Today I took a decision to wind up our Bangalore office in the next 6 months and move it to Pune. If this language nonsense is to continue, I do not want my non Kannada speaking staff to be the next "victim".This idea was mooted by the staff themselves. I agreed to their POV,” Mukherjee posted on X, sharing a post by BJP MP Tejasvi Surya wherein he termed the SBI employee’s behaviour as “unacceptable”.
The comments come days after the incident at an SBI branch in Bengaluru’s Chandapura area, where the manager refused to speak to a customer in Kannada, stating that she would speak in Hindi. "This is India, I'll speak Hindi, not Kannada,” the manager said in a viral video of the incident.
Also Read: Ask Kannada stars not to dub movies in Hindi: Sonu Nigam dares MP Surya
What CM said
The incident sparked a massive row in Karnataka with politicians and celebrities wading into the controversy. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah termed the SBI branch manager’s refusal to speak in Kannada and English as “strongly condemnable”.
Siddaramaiah thanked the SBI authorities for taking swift action by transferring the branch manager. "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,” he stated in a post on X.
Also Read: Ask Kannada stars not to dub movies in Hindi: Sonu Nigam dares MP Surya
Surya-Sonu Nigam spat
BJP MP Tejasvi Surya and Bollywood singer Sonu Nigam got involved in a bitter social media spat over the issue. Taking a dig at the BJP MP over his remark that “Banks working in Karnataka should serve customers in Kannada. Period,” Nigam mockingly suggested that it should be made mandatory for software companies in Karnataka to communicate with their clients in the US in Kannada.
The singer also dared Surya to ask Kannada movie stars not to dub their films in Hindi and not to release their movies across the country.
“Don't dub Kannada movies in Hindi! Don't release Kannada movies pan-India! Do you have the guts to say this to Kannada film stars, Mr. Tejasvi_Surya, or are you just another language warrior?” Nigam earlier posted on X.
Nigam also accused Surya of trying to divide the country on the lines of language and asked whether he would be able to address voters in Bihar in Bhojpuri, Maithili, Magahi, Bajjika, Thethi, or Angika during the Assembly elections in the state.