Ariyalur (Tamil Nadu): A retired government hospital doctor from Tamil Nadu's Ariyalur district has claimed that a nationalised bank denied him a loan as he could not speak Hindi.
Balasubramaniyan, a resident of Jayankondam in Ariyalur district is a retired chief doctor of a government hospital. He decided to build a commercial complex at one of his plots near the Jayankondam bus stand.
Hence, he went to the Gangaikonda Cholapuram branch of the Indian Overseas Bank to avail a bank loan. Balasubramanian went to the bank and asked for a loan by showing the necessary documents and income tax return.
However, Balasubramaniyan said that bank manager Vishal Narayan Kamble, who hails from Maharashtra, asked him whether he spoke Hindi. Balasubramaniyan replied that he did not know Hindi, but could speak in Tamil and English.
Balasubramaniyan claimed that the bank manager said he could speak only in Hindi as he was from Maharashtra.
When he showed his documents and tried to talk about the loan, the bank manager repeatedly spoke about the language and said that it was not possible to sanction a loan, even without looking at the documents, Balasubramaniyan alleged.
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Later, Balasubramaniyan sent a notice to the bank manager asking for compensation, claiming that he has been denied his basic rights due to a language problem. He also said that a case will be filed in court in this regard.
As the issue came out in the open, the Indian Overseas Bank management stepped in and transferred Kamble to its Tiruchirapally branch with immediate effect.
Condemning the incident, DMK chief MK Stalin took to Facebook, questioning how a person working in Tamil Nadu could be this arrogant.
"Never play with Tamil sentiments. Small sparks can snowball into huge flames," he warned.
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