During a video conference with pre-university students on Wednesday, an unidentified person interrupted and questioned Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Madhu Bangarappa’s fluency in Kannada.
Though the individual is believed to be a student, it remains unclear, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
"The state education minister does not even know Kannada," the person taunted. While the whole room including Bangarappa burst out laughing at the comment initially, after a few seconds the minister shot back, "What language am I speaking in, if not Kannada? Is it Urdu?"
He then instructed officials sitting next to him to track down the person responsible for the disruption and take action. "Take action against him. This is very stupid. He should be ashamed," a furious Bangarappa remarked, according to The New Indian Express report.
The incident took place during a meeting, attended by students and officials from various government institutions, where the minister was addressing students and introducing free online coaching for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), and Common Entrance Test (CET).