Siddaramaiah Govt Puts Job Reservation Bill For Kannadigas On Hold After Backlash

The Karnataka State Employment and Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories, and Other Establishments Bill, 2024 was expected to be tabled in the assembly on Thursday.

The Karnataka government led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has put the controversial job reservation bill on hold after facing backlash from business leaders and tech tycoons, including NASSCOM. The bill, which was approved by the Cabinet on Monday, provides reservation for the Kannadigas in private sector organisations, news agency PTI reported.

The Karnataka State Employment and Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories, and Other Establishments Bill, 2024 was expected to be tabled in the assembly on Thursday.

A statement issued by the CM's office on Wednesday stated that the bill will be revisited and decided upon in the coming days.

Stating that the bill is in the preparation stage, Siddaramaiah posted on X: "The bill intended to implement reservation for Kannadigas in private sector institutions, industries and enterprises is still in the preparation stage. A final decision will be taken after comprehensive discussion in the next cabinet meeting."

According to the Bill, industries, factories or other establishments are required to hire 50 per cent of local candidates in management roles and 70 per cent in non-management roles.

In a post on X, which was deleted after a row erupted, Siddaramaiah said: "The Cabinet meeting held yesterday approved a bill to make recruitment of 100 per cent Kannadigas mandatory for 'C and D' grade posts in all private industries in the state."

Labour Minister Santish Lad Issues Clarification After Bill Receives Backlash

The announcement about the bill was first made on Tuesday evening by the CM, who said his "pro-Kannada government" would ensure that all "Kannadigas get an opportunity to lead a comfortable life in the motherland and avoid being deprived of jobsin the land of Kannada".

Following the backlash over a 100 percent reservation, Labour Minister Santosh Lad issued a clarification saying, "At management level, it has been decided to provide reservation of 50 per cent. At the non-management level, it has been decided to provide work to 70 per cent..."

He further said that if the companies failed to find suitable skilled candidates from this pool, they could then hire people from outside the state. Click here to know the details about the bill. 

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) demanded the bill be scrapped, warning that failing to do so might force businesses to move elsewhere from the state.

On the other hand, Executive Chairperson of Biocon Limited, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw acknowledged the need to provide jobs for locals, but added "there must be caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy."

"At management level, it has been decided to provide reservation of 50 per cent. At the non-management level, it has been decided to provide work to 70 per cent..." Shaw tweeted.

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