Amid the ongoing controversy, the chief executive officer (CEO) of PhonePe, Sameer Nigam on Sunday apologised after being slammed on X formally Twitter for criticising the Karnataka reservation bill, which the same state government later repealed.
He apologised and said, “ I would first and foremost like to clarify that it was NEVER my intention to insult Karnataka and its people. If my comments hurt anyone’s sentiments in such a way, I am truly sorry and would like to offer you an unconditional apology.”
The PhonePe chief also said that he believes in linguistic diversity and rich cultural heritage as an asset for the nation. Every Indian should pay respect to celebrate the local and cultural norms. He also said that he believe that such an approach should be that give every Indian a job and an opportunity to shine.
This statement from Nigam comes after the trolling he faced from netizens on the social media platform X. Nigam commented on 17 July, stating his views about the new bill passed by the State.
"I am 46 years old. Never lived in a state for 15+ years. 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?” said Nigam in the post on 17 July.
He also said that Indian startups are competing with giants like Google, Apple and Microsoft. So they should be given the option to hire global talents.