The interaction between an Airtel customer executive and a customer went viral on social media platforms after the executive was asked to speak in the “Marathi” language in Maharashtra. The video, which was recorded by a customer, has gone viral on X, which shows that two were in heated arguments over language issues. The woman customer executive could be heard saying that, “The man is asking me to speak in Marathi in Maharashtra. Is it compulsory to learn Marathi in Maharashtra?. This is India, and every language is welcomed.”
एअरटेल प्रशासनाने नोंद घेऊन कर्मचाऱ्यांना मराठी भाषेचं महत्त्व समजावून सांगावं. महाराष्ट्रात एअरटेल चे असंख्य मराठी ग्राहक आहेत ते कायम ठेवायचे असतील तर योग्य पाउलं उचला नाहीतर मुंबईत एअरटेल ची गॅलरी दिसणार नाही. इतर भाषेचा विरोध नाही पण मराठी भाषिक ८०% कर्मचारी असायलाच हवे.… pic.twitter.com/xRBO2nSzqh
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According to reports, the issue escalated when a customer reached the Airtel care office in Mumbai over some issue. When he asked the woman to speak in Marathi, she protested, and they entered into a fight. The woman also called neighbourhood shopkeepers, who also tried to counsel the man, but he kept telling her to speak in Marathi.
At one point, the woman refused to answer the man when he was speaking in Marathi and said, I cannot understand. Please speak in Hindi. Marathi is not compulsory. During the verbal argument, another customer executive intervened and asked the man to solve his issue related to Airtel instead of fighting over language. “Do you want to resolve your issue or not?” said the customer executive. However, Airtel has not issued any official statement over the issue.
BJP MLC Chitra Wagh, head of the women’s wing of the Maharashtra BJP, slammed the Airtel employee on X, saying, “The arrogance and rudeness in the Airtel gallery have come to light. Disrespect for Maharashtra and the Marathi language will not be tolerated. Airtel should apologise to all Marathi speakers on behalf of that girl.” “Going forward, every manager and employee in your galleries must be proficient in Marathi, and recruitment should prioritise individuals fluent in the language,” she added in a post. “If one resides in Maharashtra, they must know Marathi. If they don’t, they should at least be willing to learn and respect the language,” Wagh said.
According to HT, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, during a state assembly meeting last week, said that the language of Maharashtra and Mumbai was Marathi and those residing in the state should learn it. His statement was in response to senior RSS leader Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi saying, “Mumbai does not have one language. It has many languages. Certain areas have their own language. The language of Ghatkopar is Gujarati. In Girgaum, you will have fewer Hindi speakers and more Marathi speakers. So it is easy that any individual coming to Mumbai may not necessarily learn Marathi.”
