Daijiworld Media Network – Mangaluru
Bengaluru, Aug 16: The banking exams by the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection (IBPS) need to be conducted in Kannada as well, demanded Karnataka deputy chief minister (DCM) Dr G Parameshwara in a letter to Union finance minister Arun Jaitley.
“I have written to the Finance Minister @arunjaitley regarding the injustice being met out to banking job aspirants from Karnataka because of #IBPS. I hope Shri.Jaitley makes the relevant changes to the process immediately. Here is a copy of my letter (sic),” Parameshwara tweeted attaching the copy of the letter.
In the letter, Parameshwara wrote, “While aspirants from Hindi speaking states are now comfortably writing examinations for recruitment into banks across the country in Hindi, Kannada speaking aspirants are struggling to compete with them for recruitment into banks located in their own state, as the only available alternative for them, English. The abysmally low rate of selection of state’s candidates in Karnataka’s banks year after year is a reflection of the extent of discrimination our aspirants are facing,”
“This systematic discrimination has started to create social tension in Karnataka’s banks. Most of the banks flout RBI guidelines which mandate the presence of all bank related documents and services in the state official language. Challans, application forms, procedural documents and ATM kiosks are all available only in English and Hindi but not in Kannada. This has forced the people to depend on staff for information and assistance. But banks are increasingly getting filled with employees who can neither comprehend nor hold the rudimentary conversation in Kannada, because of the recruitment process,” he pointed out.
He urged the Finance Minister to take up the issue immediately, as it goes “against the very spirit of federalism and the interests of not just the people of Karnataka, but those from other states as well”.
He also said, “I sincerely hope this letter will not be met with the same fate that the previous letters have met” hinting the earlier communication from former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and the Kannada Development Authority chairman SG Siddaramaiah on the same issue had not elicited any response.
Demanding to put an end to discriminatory practice, Parameshwara suggested amendments need to be immediately brought about in recruitment process. “The proficiency of the state official language has to be brought back as a mandatory eligibility criterion to give first preference to local aspirants,” he said.
He also demanded that those working in Karnataka’s banks without proficiency must be directed to gain proficiency within a stipulated time frame and all the required facilities should be arranged to facilitate this. After the time frame their retention must be subject to passing the assessment, he stressed.
Just last week, Parameshwara had condemned the attack by a bank official on a customer in Kolar for asking to carry transaction while communicating in Kannada. “It has come to our notice that customers are being attacked for wanting to transact in Kannada,” he had tweeted urging banks to warn their staff against such incidents and act against those who take law in their hands.