Kannada left out from bank exam, Oppn raises concerns

Union minister Pralhad Joshi on Friday said he will discuss with “the minister concerned” about having Kannada in the banking recruitment exams even as the Modi administration came under severe attack over the latest IBPS notification sticking to English and Hindi.

Kannada activists as well as the Opposition Congress and JD(S) censured the Centre for “ignoring” demands of the locals to restore the domicile clause in the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) exam.

While Nirmala Sitharaman had assured that 13 regional languages in addition to English and Hindi will be allowed in the exams, the IBPS exam notification mentions just English and Hindi.

“The issue has come to my notice. I will soon speak with the concerned minister at central government and request them to provide Kannada as one of the options in banking sector examinations,” Joshi told reporters.

While the Congress criticised the decision as a 'humiliation’ to Kannadigas, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy said it was proof of the ‘step-motherly treatment’ meted to Karnataka.

Congress leader Siddaramaiah alleged that the notification issued without restoring the domicile clause was a conspiracy to prevent non-Hindi people from getting bank jobs.

“(sic) It is a conspiracy to prevent non-hindi ppl from getting bank jobs. We have to teach BJP a lesson about the power of linguistic diversity. What are the representatives from BJP Karnataka doing? Do they also subscribe to the idea of superiority of Hindi? Shame!” he said on Twitter.

Former CM HD Kumaraswamy said such moves were “proof of step-motherly treatment by the Centre”. "I strongly condemn this," Kumaraswamy said, lambasting the Centre for now paying heed to the demands of Kannadigas.

The way the Congress and JD(S) leaders reacted on the issue did not please Kannada activists, including Arun Javagal of Banavasi Balaga.

"Why are BJP, Congress and JD(S) not raising their voice even though Kannadigas are losing 99 per cent of posts in Central government and banks," Javagal asked.