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IBPS exam process to be stopped for now, says ministry amid language row
A committee has been set up to look into the demand of holding IBPS exam in regional languages, which will submit the report in 15 days. Until then, all processes will be kept on hold, the ministry said.
The finance ministry on Tuesday said the ongoing process of holding the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection -- a test for the recruitment for 3,000 clerical posts in 11 banks -- amid a language row which broke out from Karnataka for not keeping Kannada as a language. The finance ministry issued a statement clarifying its stand and said that the process will be kept on hold as of now.
The row erupted as former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah took to Twitter and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of betraying Kannadigas. "Latest notification by IBPS is an example of BJP's anti-Kannada stand. Central government should immediately address this and ensure justice to Kannadigas," he tweeted.
Taking finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's name specifically, Siddaramaiah said that though the minister represents Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha, she has "constantly betrayed Kannadigas and Kannada". "Karnataka has elected 25 MPs to Lok Sabha. What are these MPs doing? Though slavery is abolished, BJP Karnataka MPS are behaving like slaves of Narendra Modi," Siddaramaiah wrote.
"IBPS had called for applications to fill more than 3000 vacant clerk positions in about 11 nationalised banks. Out of these, 407 posts are in Karnataka. Injustice to Kannada will result in huge unemployment by leaving out Kannadigas in the competition. Candidates were able to write IBPS exams in regional languages before 2014. After BJP came to power, rules were changed to allow English and Hindi only," Siddaramaiah wrote.
Reports said in 2019 Sitharaman had assured that banking exams will be held in local languages. Rejecting the claim, the finance ministry said that the finance ministry's assurance was made in the context of exams for Regional Rural Banks, not IBPS. "With a view to provide a level playing field to the local youths for availing employment opportunities, the Government in 2019 decided that for recruitment of Office Assistant and Officer Scale I in RRBs, examination will be held in 13 regional languages including Konakani and Kannada, besides Hindi and English. Since then, examination for these recruitments are being conducted in regional languages also," the ministry said.
"In order to look into the demand for holding examination for clerical cadre in Public Sector Banks (PSBs) in local/regional languages, a Committee has been constituted to look into the matter in its entirety. The Committee will give its recommendations within 15 days. The ongoing process of holding the examination initiated by IBPS will be kept on hold until the recommendations of the Committee are made available," it said.
This year, IBPS will select clerks for Bank of Baroda, Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra, Canara Bank, Central Bank of India, Indian Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Punjab National Bank, Punjab and Sind Bank, UCO Bank and Union Bank of India.
