Instagram influencer Sugandh Sharma sparked controversy with a recent reel in which she claimed that North Indians were responsible for building Bengaluru and that the city couldn't function without migrants. In the viral video, Ms Sharma stated that if North Indians were to leave Bengaluru, the city would be left empty, even suggesting that paying guest (PG) accommodations would be vacant. However, following the backlash, she posted another video, clarifying that she loves Bengaluru, the Silicon Valley of India, and urged people not to spread hate.
She captioned the original video, "Bangalore sabka hain kisi ek ka nahin (Bangalore belongs to everyone, not to anyone alone)."
The video triggered numerous reactions from internet users. Celebrities including actresses Chaithra Achar and Anupama Gowda, and Bigg Boss stars Rupesh Rajanna and Dhanraj also expressed their disapproval of Sharma's remarks.
See the video here:
Actor and rapper Chandan Shetty wrote, "Please leave."
"If you can actually leave, just as an experiment, and see how Bangalore becomes empty, we are ready to live with that emptiness and dancers less pubs. We can live with it. Really. Forget all other North Indians. You leave ma'am, enough for now!" Achar commented.
"If you think this is cool, nope it isn't. You need Bengaluru more than anything else and you leaving Bengaluru doesn't make any difference to our OORU and for a fact that we all you can't leave Bengaluru - If you know you know," commented Gowda.
Common citizens also condemned her remarks as divisive and disrespectful.
A user commented, "As a Kannadiga and a proud Bangalorean, we've never had any significant issues with our North Indian friends in reality. It feels like some influencers and pages have a personal agenda, pushing aggression towards Bangalore by constantly posting 'North India vs Bangalore' content and spreading unnecessary hatred. Yes, there may be some incidents, but that doesn't represent everyone. We all coexist here, and we embrace diversity. We welcome people, help them learn Kannada, and make their livelihood easier. Instead of spreading hatred, imagine how beautiful the content could be if it highlighted the unity and diversity that make Bangalore special. Please stop spreading hate."
