Amid Karnataka job reservation row, Siddaramaiah reposts quota tweet, says ’Kannadigas…deprived of jobs..’

Karnataka job reservation: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah announced on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that the state Cabinet has approved a bill mandating 50% reservation for administrative posts and 75% for non-administrative roles in private industries and organizations for Kannadigas.

The tweet came hours after he deleted an earlier tweet confirming a ‘100 per cent’ reservation for Kannadigas. The Karnataka Cabinet on Monday cleared the Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024, which makes it compulsory for private firms to reserve jobs for Kannadigas.

The Karnataka CM on Wednesday deleted his post previous post on 'X' (formerly Twitter) about '100 per cent reservation for Kannadigas' in private sector jobs.

"It is our government's wish that Kannadigas should be given an opportunity to lead a comfortable life in the motherland. We are a pro-Kannada government. Our priority is to look after the welfare of Kannadigas," he said.

The message Siddaramaiah had posted on 'X' on Tuesday was, "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."

"Apparently he corrected his message. The proposed bill never said 100 per cent reservation. Hence, he deleted the previous message and rectified the mistake in the new message," news media agency PTI reported quoting an official close to the CM of Karnataka.

Karnataka govt on backfoot over job reservation bill

The Congress government in Karnataka went on the defensive after an aggressive push for a '100 per cent reservation' for Kannadigas in the private sector operating in the state following a severe backlash from business honchos and tech tycoons.

Ministers who endorsed the Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in Industries, Factories, and Other Establishments Bill, 2024 during Monday's Cabinet meeting reassured industries that further discussions would address any concerns, aiming to alleviate fears.

"Any industry, factory or other establishments shall appoint fifty per cent of local candidates in management categories and seventy percent in non-management categories," the bill read.

If the candidates do not possess secondary school certificates with Kannada as a language, should pass a Kannada proficiency test as specified by the 'Nodal Agency,' it added.

The nodal agency will be authorized to request records, information, or documents from employers, occupiers, or managers of establishments to verify the report's accuracy.

Karnataka's move is similar to a bill introduced by the Haryana government, mandating 75 per cent reservation in private sector jobs to residents of the state. It was, however, struck down by the Punjab and Haryana High Court on November 17, 2023.