Bengaluru: Karnataka Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa was upset after a student claimed during a video conference that he doesn’t know Kannada. Speaking in Kannada, the minister dismissed the remark as “stupid” and instructed authorities to take action against the student.
The incident occurred during the launch of a free online coaching program for around 25,000 students preparing for competitive exams like the Karnataka Common Entrance Test, JEE, and NEET.
In a video that has since gone viral on social media, the minister was seen engaging with students through the video conference when a voice was heard saying, “The Education Minister does not know Kannada.” Bangarappa immediately retorted, “What? Who said that? Am I speaking Urdu?”
He then added, “Please record this and take action against him. This is completely unreasonable. Inform the teacher and the BEO (Block Education Officer) — this needs to be addressed seriously. I won’t stay silent.”
The minister’s demand for action against the student has sparked strong criticism from the Opposition BJP. The Karnataka BJP’s official X account shared a cartoon featuring a student asking the minister a question, with a caption pointing out the contradiction: while the minister encourages bold questions from students, he himself calls the questioner “stupid.”
Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister and MP from Karnataka, took to X, saying, “Didn’t Madhu Bangarappa publicly admit that he doesn’t know Kannada? Why is @INCKarnataka punishing the student who reminded him of this? What are they trying to achieve here? What else can we expect from the hopeless Congress?”
