Bengaluru techie deletes post against BMTC staff; told 'don't play Hindi victim card'
Agarwal earlier shared a video accusing a BMTC bus driver and conductor of verbally and physically assaulting him since he was unable to communicate in Kannada
A Bengaluru techie sparked off a row on social media when he shared a video in which he accused a BMTC bus driver and conductor of verbally and physically assaulting him because he was unable to communicate with them in Kannada. However, he received such a severe backlash for his post that he ended up deleting the video and his complaint.
Early this morning (September 8), the commuter, Aditya Raj Agarwal, posted the video on X tagging the Bengaluru police and BMTC.
But, instead of sympathy, his post drew a lot of flak from many Kannadigas and Bengalureans who accused Agarwal of playing the "Hindi victim card". They defended the bus staff saying that from the video they could clearly make out that they were not comfortable with Hindi.
The altercation
According to Agarwal, he had an altercation with the bus driver when he refused to stop the bus at a particular spot. The Google Maps allegedly showed a bus stop at that place, however, Agarwal claimed the conductor became abusive after he questioned the driver.
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“The driver starts verbally (and then physically) assaults customers and even states not knowing Kannada as a reason,” Agarwal wrote in the post, while sharing the clip.
'Don't play Hindi victim card'
However, reacting to the post, many Bengalureans defended the bus staff. One user wrote, “It’s a Vayu Vajra bus, it will not stop at 100 stops. Don’t play your Hindi victim card despite the driver repeating that he isn’t comfortable in your language.”
Another social media user noted that the video clearly shows both the driver and conductor struggling to communicate in Hindi, yet making an effort to explain the absence of a stop.
“This man keeps pressuring them to go to the police station, why should they? They’re not criminals. They’re ordinary people with families, just like the rest of us,” the user wrote.
Language rows
Meanwhile, several commuters came to the defense of the Vajra bus staff, saying they are among the most courteous and professional in Bengaluru.
“If you end up in a dispute with them, maybe the problem isn’t with them,” one comment read. Others slammed the pattern of turning minor disputes into language controversies.
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"Expecting a non-Hindi speaker to respond in Hindi and then calling it harassment is the root of the problem. BMTC staff should stick to Kannada only,” one comment said.
Migration pressure
A few went further, linking the issue to migration pressure. “Why are migrants repeatedly turning every dispute into a language issue? Karnataka is already under pressure. Like north-eastern states have Inner Line Permits, Karnataka too needs protection,” another user argued.
Significantly, after the huge backlash, Agwarwal wrote that he had made a post about having some issues on the Outer Ring Road and not getting help from the public authorities around it and that blew up.
"I don't want these posts to blow up, I just want the authorities to know the matters, but X seems to be the only way for it,” he said, defending his actions for posting about his experience on the platform.