Google on Thursday apologized after a search for the “ugliest language in India” showed the answer as Kannada. This sparked an outrage on Thursday with people expressing their indignation and leaders cutting across party lines slamming Google.

Karnataka Minister for Kannada, Culture and Forest, Aravind Limbavali told reporters that a legal notice would be served to Google for showing such an answer to that question. Later, he took to Twitter to express his outrage and demanded an apology from Google to Kannada and Kannadigas.

Kannada language has a history of its own, having come into existence as many as 2,500 years ago, the minister said and added that the language has been the pride of Kannadigas through the ages.

Showing Kannada in poor light “…is merely an attempt by Google to insult this pride of Kannadigas. I demand an apology from @Google ASAP to Kannada, Kannadigas. Legal action will be taken against Google for maligning the image of our beautiful language!” Limbavali tweeted.

Former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy denounced Google in a series of tweets for the outrageous answer to the language question. He sought to know why Google “behaves in an irresponsible manner” in terms of language. Others including the BJP’s Bengaluru Central MP, P C Mohan slammed Google and asked it to apologise.

Meanwhile, the tech giant took to Twitter and apologized for the same. In a statement, Google India said, “Search isn’t always perfect. Sometimes, the way content is described on the internet can yield surprising results to specific queries.”

“We know this is not ideal, but we take swift corrective action when we are made aware of an issue and are continually working to improve our algorithms. Naturally, these are not reflective of the opinions of Google, and we apologise for the misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments,” it added.