The claims against KFC, which have caused the hashtag #RejectKFC to trend on Twitter, say that a worker at the restaurant stated that Hindi was India's native language. As a result, Kannada music will not be played there.
Following in the footsteps of Zomato, the restaurant giant KFC has found itself mired in a scandal when one of its Karnataka locations allegedly refused to play Kannada music at a customer's request. The claims against KFC, which have caused the hashtag #RejectKFC to trend on Twitter, say that a worker at the restaurant stated that Hindi was India's native language. As a result, Kannada music will not be played there. On the microblogging site, a video of the alleged event has also gone viral. Many Twitter users complained that this was insulting to Karnataka's land and culture, while others said the publication was anti-Kannada.
Let us take a look at the video which triggered the hashtag:
ಕರ್ನಾಟಕದಲ್ಲಿರುವ ಕೆಎಫ್ ಸಿ ಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಕನ್ನಡ ಹಾಡು ಹಾಕುವಂತಿಲ್ಲ ಅಂತ ನಿಯಮ ಮಾಡಿದೆಯಂತೆ! pic.twitter.com/a8SMvRXXmJ
— ವಿನಯ್ 🇮🇳 (@meVinayRW)Meanwhile, KFC issued a statement saying: "This video is dated and is now being re-circulated. KFC India has the highest respect for cultural values of all communities. As a brand with presence across the country, it is our endeavour to ensure our consumers have the same KFC experience whenever and wherever they visit us, and hence at present we have a common playlist that is licensed and purchased centrally, and played across restaurants nationwide."
Here's how the netizens reacted to the video:
Give services in Kannada or get lost
Why is it trending now? pic.twitter.com/zPCC9TTkLe
Also Read | From Google to Amazon to Zomato: Multinational firms that insulted South Indian languages and culture
KFC You need Karnataka's land,kannadigas to run your business but can't play kannada songs when Kannadiga requests. Please know that India has no National language!!! pic.twitter.com/58qK0zyubP
— ಅಶೋಕ್ ಪೂಜಾರಿ ಮಡಿಕೇರಿ (@ashokpoojari69) on the day of India Pakistan match, was trending with 30k+ tweets from Kannada people. You need to understand the costomers needs and respect that.
Revisit the BASICS of Business. or else
PC- pic.twitter.com/xZgahykhgE
This time from Karnataka ❤
Hindi is not our national language. Each state has it's beautiful and respectable language. ☺ pic.twitter.com/HWqGh8c6ro
Kanndigas started as they imposed one of india's regional languages as the national language. Let's unit against language imposition. And say . pic.twitter.com/v53ErFfIV7
— Md Sikandar (@TheNameIsAlxndr)Be a Roman in Rome, be a kannadiga in Karnataka. Teach your staffs Kannada, the official language of Karnataka. https://t.co/uL8BPzc2TO
— Chaithra (ಚೈತ್ರ) (@ChaithraKiran13)Also Read | Swiggy to roll out 2-day paid monthly period time-off for women delivery partners
Tamils fully supported this Trends.we respect those who are respect their mother tongue.Hindi is not a National Language. வாழ்க தமிழ் ಜೈ ಕನ್ನಡ pic.twitter.com/USpsosJFWg
— Sathik Sait (@sait_sathik)Similarly, an incident involving meal delivery site Zomato and a Tamilian consumer was revealed on October 19. The buyer was informed that he should know Hindi because it was India's "national language." The incident was brought to light after Vikash tweeted about his interaction with a customer support representative following a mistake about his lunch order. He also posted images of his interaction with the Zomato executive, which indicated that he was unable to secure a refund for an order owing to a misunderstanding between Zomato and the restaurant from which he had purchased.
The executive blamed the miscommunication on a language barrier, but when Vikash suggested that they should have sent someone who understood Tamil, the executive, to his dismay, responded, "Hindi is our national language, and it is extremely usual that everybody should know Hindi a little bit."