Days after Sonu Nigam was heckled at a concert in Karnataka after he was allegedly asked to perform in Kannada, the singer has now spoken up against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya. On Wednesday, the MP shared a video on X where an employee of a public sector bank, speaking English, and a local customer, speaking Kannada, can be seen arguing. He said that the bank employee’s behaviour was “simply not acceptable” and demanded that bank employees who have to deal with local customers must know the local language. Sonu raised an objection to this and instantly brought up all the international businesses that operate out of Bengaluru. He also said that if the language rules were so strict, Kannada films should not be dubbed in Hindi, and they shouldn’t be released across the country.
“Don’t dub Kannada movies in Hindi! Don’t release Kannada movies pan-India! Do you have the guts to say this to Kannada film stars, Mr. @Tejasvi_Surya, or you are just another language warrior?” Sonu wrote on X questioning Tejasvi’s intentions.
Sonu Nigam’s X account.
Sonu Nigam’s X account
Sonu Nigam’s X account
“Kannada should also be made mandatory in software companies. If American clients conduct business in Karnataka, they should also speak in Kannada. There should be no compromise on this. Alright @Tejasvi_Surya ji? Period,” Sonu wrote in Hindi on X. He then posted another tweet where he questioned if Tejasvi Surya would be able to speak in Bhojpuri, Maithili, and other regional languages during Bihar elections. He accused him of “trying to divide the country on the basis of linguistic and regional differences.”
In another tweet, he called him a “disease” and wrote, “A national party like BJP has made @Tejasvi_Surya an MP for the second time, but the spirit of nationalism could not become strong within him. People who hold cheap thoughts like linguism, regionalism, and casteism are like a disease. Whether it’s Tejasvi from Bihar or Karnataka, both are behaving with the same foolishness.”
Earlier this month, Sonu was performing at a concert in Bengaluru when a student started shouting ‘Kannada, Kannada’ at him, as if he was demanding that the singer sing in the local language. Sonu did not appreciate this behaviour, and said, “This is the reason behind the incident in Pahalgam. Please see who is standing before you. I love you guys.” He later shared a note on social media that said, “I told them very politely and lovingly the show has just started, it’s my first song and that I will not let them down, but they have to let me continue with the concert the way I have planned. Every artiste has a song list prepared so the musicians and technicians are in sync. But they were hell bent on creating ruckus and threatening me wildly. Tell me who is at fault?”
