Karnataka News

Why Karnataka Congress Govt’s Reservation For “Locals” Is Not Just Unconstitutional But A Dangerous Plan That Will Balkanize India 

July 17, 2024
The Commune

On 15 July 2024, the Karnataka Cabinet approved a bill mandating that a significant portion of jobs in the private sector be reserved for local candidates. The Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories, and Other Establishments Bill, 2024, will be presented in the current legislative session. This legislation requires specific quotas for local candidates in various sectors.

The Bill defines a local candidate as, “who is born in the State of Karnataka and who is domiciled in the State for a period of 15 years and who is capable of speaking, reading and writing Kannada in a legible way and has passed a required test conducted by the nodal agency”.  

What Does The Bill Stipulate?

The Bill stipulates that 50% of management positions and 75% of non-management positions must be allocated to local candidates. Management positions include roles such as supervisory, managerial, technical, operational, and administrative positions, excluding directors. Non-management roles encompass clerical, unskilled, semi-skilled, skilled, IT/ITES, contract, and casual work.

The bill also mandates that industries collaborate with the government to train local candidates within three years if enough qualified local candidates are not available. Quota exemptions are allowed, but local candidate minimums must remain at 25% for management and 50% for non-management roles. Non-compliance could result in penalties ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹25,000. Additionally, a daily penalty of ₹100 will be imposed for each day the contravention continues. The bill applies to any entity employing more than 10 people, thereby encompassing a wide range of sectors including IT, services, manufacturing, retail, and other establishments.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah emphasized that 100% of C and D-grade posts in private industries should be reserved for Kannadigas. These posts include roles such as clerks, lab technicians, and pharmacists, with monthly salaries ranging from ₹25,000 to ₹40,000.

The Bill addresses longstanding demands for job reservations for Kannadigas. Kannada organizations recently held rallies advocating for the implementation of the Sarojini Mahishi report, which recommended job quotas for locals in both government and private sectors. The report was originally submitted in 1984 and put forth 58 recommendations, one of which included a 100% reservation for local candidates in group C and D jobs within Union government departments and public sector undertakings operating in Karnataka.

A previous attempt by the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government to introduce a 100% reservation for locals in all private industries, excluding the IT-BT sector, was halted by the Law Department, citing unconstitutionality under Articles 14 and 16 of the Constitution.

When CM Siddaramaiah tweeted about his government’s move, there was a lot of backlash from people and concerns raised by the business community which ultimately made him to delete his tweet.

Karnataka Minister MB Patil has stated that they will address the confusion by discussing it with the CM to ensure it doesn’t have any negative impact.

What Are Industrialists Saying?

Several industry leaders in Karnataka expressed strong objections to the proposed bill mandating local reservations in private-sector jobs.

Founder of Biocon, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, emphasized that while the goal is to provide jobs for locals, the bill should not compromise Karnataka’s leading position in technology. She advocated for exemptions for highly skilled recruitment to avoid negatively impacting the tech industry.

Mohandas Pai, Chairman of Manipal Global Education Services, called the bill “fascist” and unconstitutional. He criticized it as discriminatory and regressive, highlighting concerns over government certification and language tests for private-sector employment. Pai suggested that a government officer’s involvement in private recruitment is akin to the oppressive measures in George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.”

RK Misra, Co-Chairman of ASSOCHAM Karnataka and Co-Founder of YULU labelled the bill as shortsighted. He warned that the requirement for a government officer in every private company to monitor the bill’s implementation would deter Indian IT and Global Capability Centres, potentially scaring them away from Karnataka.

It is noteworthy that in 2023, the Punjab and Haryana High Court invalidated the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020, which had stipulated a 75% reservation for state residents in private sector jobs with monthly salaries under ₹30,000, calling it “unconstitutional“. The court ruled that the Act exceeded the State’s legislative authority and violated constitutional guarantees of equality under Article 14 and freedom under Article 19. The High Court in its order said, “The underlying object of the legislation, as has been succinctly put by counsel for the petitioners, is to create an artificial gap and a discrimination qua the citizens of India.”  The matter is in the Supreme Court and the apex court sought a response from the Centre in this regard.

Why This Is A Wrong Move

The Congress, often emphasizing the Constitution, is violating fundamental rights with this move.

Article 14 guarantees equality before the law for every Indian, but this action denies equal treatment to those from other states working in Karnataka.

Article 19 ensures the freedom to move, reside, and work anywhere in India, which this move also infringes upon.

Such a draconian measure not only violates the Constitution but also defies basic economic logic.

Restricting companies’ hiring rights will deter investors, strangle the private sector, and lead to a loss of jobs, businesses, and state revenue.

Ultimately, these laws will harm the state’s economic growth and development.

Most often locals will not be sufficiently talented/skilled for a specific job. In such cases, other state candidates will have to be hired. Although the bill states that local candidates must be trained if the specific skilled candidates are unavailable, this is something companies will not indulge in.

Training means an expenditure of resources – time, money, etc and this is something industries will not be happy to spend.

Such a move can also be seen as an infringement of the state into the rights of company decisions in terms of hiring.

The private sector will be strangled as it depends on the availability of skilled, qualified and efficient workforce.

Implementing such reservations could dilute the talent pool, leading to reduced performance among companies. This might compel businesses to relocate out of the state or even out of the country, thereby negatively impacting the state’s revenue.

In essence, this move can turn out to be counterproductive and detrimental to the economic growth and development of the state.

Reservations should ideally be targeted toward low-income households and maintained at moderate levels to balance inclusivity with economic efficiency.

Had the West decided to implement such reservation, we would have seen plenty of Indians return home.

Is This A Broader Agenda Of The Congress To Divide And Rule?

We have often heard Congress scion Rahul Gandhi call India as a “union of states” rather than a country in itself.

Even recently, during his trip to Manipur, Rahul Gandhi reiterated that “Manipur is one of the most beautiful states of the Indian Union.”

The Karnataka Congress government’s parochial move to reserve jobs for locals in the state could set a precedent for other states to follow suit. If this trend spreads, it may lead to a fragmentation of the national labour market. Such policies could hinder the vision of a unified, integrated, and mobile workforce across India, effectively undermining the concept of ‘One nation, One market’. This balkanisation of the labour market could, in turn, contribute to a broader balkanisation of India itself, creating barriers between states and potentially weakening national cohesion.

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