Decode Politics: Siddaramaiah govt’s stalled job quota plans for ‘locals’: What and why

Earlier, Congress ministers and leaders clarified that the legislation – Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024 – was in the preliminary stages and “wider consultations” would be done before it was tabled in the Assembly.

Industries Minister M B Patil, currently on a tour abroad to generate investments for the state, issued a statement that the government would ensure that “the interests of Kannadigas are protected, alongside those of industries”.

Karnataka Information Technology and Bio Technology (IT, BT) Minister Priyank Kharge told The Indian Express that while the government was keen on ensuring more jobs for locals, it would consult the industry regarding the draft Bill. “All the policies and schemes running in the IT or BT industry have been implemented after consultation with the industry. No rule will be passed without wider consultations,” he said.

What were the provisions of the Bill?

As per the Bill, 75% of jobs in non-management category and 50% in management category, excluding Board members, would be kept aside for locals in all industries, factories and other establishments in the state.

The Bill defined locals as those “born in the state of Karnataka and domiciled in the state for a period of 15 years and capable of speaking, reading and writing Kannada in a legible way”. They would also need to clear a test by a nodal agency on their proficiency in Kannada.

The management jobs included those falling in the category of supervisory, managerial, technical, operational, administrative and other higher positions in any factory, industry and company, excluding directors. Non-management included jobs in the category of clerical, unskilled, semi-skilled, and skilled employees.

If qualified or suitable local candidates were not available, said the Bill, an establishment would train and engage local candidates within three years. It also had a relaxation clause for industries in case sufficient number of local candidates were not available, in which case the reservation requirement would be lowered to 50% of the jobs in non-management categories and 25% in management categories.

Was the Bill expected?

The Congress manifesto for the 2023 Assembly polls included a promise to “ensure 80 per cent jobs in Karnataka to local people in both public and private sector”.

However, while there had been consultations regarding legislation such as the Karnataka Platform Based Gig Workers (Social Security and Welfare) Bill ahead of the Assembly session that began on July 15, there wasn’t much chatter about the job quota proposal, until the Cabinet cleared it.

The Opposition was quick to link it to the pressure on the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government over alleged scams regarding the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation and Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). Last month, B Nagendra resigned as a minister over the ST corporation scam, and was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate a few days ago. Siddaramaiah’s wife Parvathi has been accused by the BJP of being one of the illegal beneficiaries of the alleged MUDA land allotment scam.

Taking a dig at the job quota Bill Wednesday, Leader of the Opposition R Ashok called it “a new drama to divert people’s attention” from the ST corporation scam, and said Siddaramaiah had no option but to resign.

What was the Congress seeking with the Bill?

Regional aspirations play a key role in Karnataka politics, with pro-Kannada groups a big pressure factor on governments cutting across parties. One of the issues these groups have taken up is “excessive flow of migrants from other states” into Karnataka, especially Bengaluru, linking it to “decline” of the Kannada identity.

In 2022, the then BJP government in Karnataka passed the Kannada Language Comprehensive Development Act, which stipulated that private industries, establishments and institutions would be eligible for government concessions only if they provided reservation to Kannadigas, as specified by the industrial policy announced from time to time.

Siddaramaiah himself has had a long association with pro-Kannada groups and movements. Soon after he became an MLA for the first time in 1983, he was named the president of the newly formed Kannada Kavalu Samithi, now known as the Kannada Development Authority. Its stated aim is to supervise the implementation of Kannada as the official language in the state.

During the violent protests by Kannada activists in Bengaluru last December demanding strict implementation of the rule that all signboards in the state be at least 60% in Kannada, the CM was accused of treating the protesters with kid gloves.

Incidentally, Siddaramaiah is among the prominent leaders of the state, along with senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa, who has been a proponent of the implementation of the Sarojini Mahishi report of 1984, which recommended that a large share of jobs be reserved for locals in both public and private sectors in Karnataka.

How did the industry react to the Bill?

Biocon Limited founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw said that the tech hub in Bengaluru required “skilled talent” and that while pushing for jobs for locals, “we must not affect our leading position in technology”. “There must be caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy,” she posted on social media.

In a statement, NASSCOM expressed its disappointment and “deep concern” over the Bill, warning: “Restrictions could force companies to relocate as local skilled talent becomes scarce.”