NEW DELHI: Former Infosys director Mohandas Pai criticised a State Bank of India (SBI) branch manager in Karnataka after she refused to communicate in Kannada with a local customer. Pai described the manager’s behaviour as “very, very wrong” and emphasised that businesses must serve customers in a language they understand.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Pai wrote: “You are very very wrong. Every business must serve its local customers in a language they understand. This is not the British Raj again. This is a service business. Learning say 200 words to converse is difficult? nobody is asking anyone to read and write but converse, learn a few words to show respect to your customers.” He added, “They are customers not your captives or subjects. Thus arrogance is very very wrong.” The incident occurred at the SBI Suryanagar branch in Chandapura, Anekal taluk. A video circulating on social media showed the branch manager refusing to speak in Kannada despite repeated requests from a customer. The manager insisted she only knew Hindi and said, “Where is it written that I should speak in Kannada? Show me the rules. I will never speak in Kannada. You talk to my SBI chairman.”Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah condemned the manager’s behaviour on X, saying: “The SBI branch manager refusing to speak in Kannada and 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.” Following the backlash, several Kannada organisations protested demanding strict action against the manager. Police confirmed the incident took place but said no formal complaint had been filed. Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya also criticised the manager’s conduct on social media, saying: “This behaviour by the SBI branch manager is simply unacceptable. If you are doing customer-interface work in Karnataka, especially in a sector like banking, it is important to communicate with customers in the language they know.”