Comment gathers flak: PhonePe CEO apologises to Karnataka people
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Bengaluru: In the matter of a Karnataka government's draft job reservation bill, which mandates the lion's share of the job opportunities here to be given to the locals, Phone Pe CEO Sameer Nigam's comment of disapproval had gathered flak from the state. Now, he has come up with an apology for his comment on X with a fresh post on Sunday, The News Minute reports.
Nigam, also the founder of Phone Pe, said that if his earlier comments hurt anyone's sentiments, he is truly sorry. He said, "I am truly sorry and would like to offer you an unconditional apology", and added that it was never his intention to insult the state or its people.
It was on July 17 that he posted on X, expressing his disapproval of the draft bill. He wrote, "I am 46 years old. Never lived in a state for 15+ yrs. My father worked in the Indian Navy. Got posted all over the country. His kids don't deserve jobs in Karnataka? I build companies. Have created 25000+ jobs across India! My kids don't deserve jobs in their home city? Shame."
But the comment triggered widespread anger among Kannadigas, who made #UninstallPhonePe trend on X. Many expressed displeasure on Nigam's post.
In his apology, Nigam said that he has the highest regard for Kannada and other Indian languages.
"I truly believe that linguistic diversity and rich cultural heritage is a national asset that all Indians should be proud of, and all Indians should be respectful of and celebrate local and cultural norms," the PhonePe founder stated.
He said that his app was born in Bengaluru. "From Bengaluru, over the past decade, we have expanded across the length and breadth of India and been able to deliver secure and efficient digital payments for over 55 crore Indians," Nigam said.
He said he and his company are grateful for the supportive business environment the Karnataka government and its people offered.
He reminded that Indian startups in Bengaluru are competing against trillion-dollar giants like Google, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft. To compete with them, Indian companies must employ the best talent available in India, which should be purely based on their technology skills and proficiency in fields such as "Coding, Design, Product Management, Data Sciences, Machine Learning, AI and beyond".