Karnataka’s Congress government is now facing a backlash for putting the contentious jobs-for-locals bill on hold, with Kannada outfits and the state BJP castigating it for buckling under pressure from the tech industry.

State BJP president B.Y. Vijayendra on Thursday accused chief minister Siddaramaiah and his government of insulting Kannadigas by announcing the draft bill and then beating a retreat in the face of criticism.

"Why did you bring the bill to reserve jobs for Kannadigas? Why did you then hold it back? Why mess with the lives of Kannadigas?" Vijayendra asked in a lengthy statement on X on Thursday.

The state cabinet had cleared the draft Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill reserving 50 per cent managerial jobs, 75 per cent non-management jobs and 100 per cent unskilled jobs for Kannadigas in the private sector. The bill was to be tabled in the Assembly in the ongoing monsoon session.

However, strident criticism from industry leaders, who warned of an exodus of investors from the state if such legislation was enacted and implemented, prompted Siddaramaiah to quickly put the bill on hold pending further discussions.

The bill defines Kannadigas as those who were born in the state, have been domiciled in the state for at least 15 years, and speak, read and write Kannada.

This means that one’s mother tongue is not the criterion for qualifying as a Kannada under the bill. Besides, the bill provides for exemptions in the event of a talent shortage.

Siddaramaiah has issued a clarification saying the bill has not been junked.

"The draft bill intended to provide reservations for Kannadigas in private sector companies, industries, and enterprises is still in the preparation stage. A comprehensive discussion will be held in the next cabinet meeting to make a final decision," he said in a post on X.

But what should worry the government more is the displeasure expressed by pro-Kannada organisations that have been fighting for a job quota for Kannadigas.

T.A. Narayana Gowda, president of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (Karnataka Protection Forum) who had called on Siddaramaiah early on Wednesday to congratulate him on the bill, threatened a state-wide agitation if the bill was not enacted in its current form.

"This bill is the result of four decades of struggle, starting from the Sarojini Mahishi committee recommendations. We will go on a massive agitation if this bill is tampered with or dropped," he told reporters on Thursday.

The Sarojini Mahishi committee had in 1986 recommended that all government and state PSU jobs be reserved for Kannadigas along with certain categories of private-sector jobs, such as those of watchmen and cleaners.

In a lengthy statement on X, Gowda slammed the industry leaders, especially those from Karnataka, who have opposed the bill.

“It came to my notice that certain businesspersons are opposing the bill. The government should not give in to such (exodus) threats…. We have seen such blackmail in the past,” he said.

Gowda appeared to be alluding to the objections to the bill from city-based corporate leaders such as the former CEO of Infosys, T.V. Mohandas Pai, and Biocon executive chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. Apex tech body Nasscom had warned that investors would be forced to leave the state.

The Kannada Development Authority, a government body, too urged the state government to pass the bill.

Its chairman Purushottama Bilimale reminded the government about the Sarojini Mahishi report.

“It is very natural for locals to be given preference in employment. Today this is a call being heard around the world,” a KDA statement quoted Bilimale as saying.

“Kannadigas are not getting sufficient opportunities although there are many central government industries, public and private enterprises in Karnataka.”