Transfers from Kerala to Andhra to Tamil Nadu: Amid Kannada row, CA asks - How many languages an SBI manager must learn?

The recent controversy surrounding a State Bank of India (SBI) staffer in Bengaluru, who refused to speak Kannada with a customer, has widened further. Amid mounting political and public pressure over the language row, a chartered accountant has stepped in with a sharp rebuttal, defending the employee and questioning the practicality of enforcing local language use across India’s vast and mobile banking workforce.

CA Shiva Mudgil took to X (formerly Twitter) to counter BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s strong remarks demanding strict implementation of Kannada as a working language in Karnataka’s banking services.

“Given the State Bank of India’s pan-India postings, where employees aren’t informed of their posting location before joining and face potential transfers every three years, expecting an employee to master multiple languages in such a short time is unrealistic,” Mudgil wrote. She added, “Local clerks are typically available to bridge language gaps, so she should prioritize sharpening her banking skills over struggling with language acquisition.”

In a follow-up post, she drew from personal experience: “While growing up my father had interstate transfers. From Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh. How many languages should the employee learn? Postings are not of choice.”

Mudgil’s defence comes in response to Tejasvi Surya’s post, where the Bengaluru South MP condemned the manager’s refusal to speak Kannada: “This behaviour by @TheOfficialSBI Branch Manager is simply not acceptable… Banks working in Karnataka should serve customers in Kannada. Period.”

Surya went on to say he had repeatedly flagged the issue in Parliament and Public Accounts Committee meetings, pushing for implementation of a DFS policy mandating local language proficiency for customer-facing roles.

Mohandas Pai, chairman of Aarin Capital, also responded to Mudgil's comment, saying, "Silly statement. Nobody is asking anyone to learn,read,write all languages.learn 200 words to converse. is this too much? The local staff can help interpret when customers meet. It is very normal."

The controversy

The flashpoint came when a video from the Surya Nagar branch of SBI showed the official telling a customer, “I will never speak Kannada,” before walking off. The clip triggered outrage across Karnataka, with CM Siddaramaiah calling the official’s conduct “strongly condemnable.” He applauded SBI's swift action in transferring the employee and called for closure of the matter.