Bengaluru: Karnataka chief minister DK Shivakumar Sunday warned private companies of “appropriate action” if they were found to be “deliberately discriminating” against Kannadigas during recruitment.
In a post on X, Shivakumar said it was unfortunate that complaints were emerging about Kannadigas being denied employment opportunities. He said the govt had taken serious note of allegations that candidates whose mother tongue was Kannada were being overlooked. “It’s quite dismal,” he said. The CM said in Karnataka, “the Kannadiga is sovereign. The govt will not allow their rights, dignity and opportunities to be ignored under any circumstances,” he said, adding Bengaluru’s status as India’s technology capital reflected the talent, skills and capabilities of Kannadigas.
The comment drew a sharp response from industry watchers, who denied bias and instead urged the govt to rebuild college infrastructure, upskill students and make them industry-ready. The CM’s statement came in response to a viral video of a young woman alleging IT firms in Bengaluru were denying job opportunities to local candidates. Under Siddaramaiah’s term as CM, a bill for reservation for locals in private companies was approved by the state cabinet. However, it was put on the backburner after pressure from companies.
Media reports suggest that 60-70% of faculty positions in govt colleges are vacant, he said, adding, “The govt needs to invest more in govt colleges and universities, fill vacant posts, provide more funding for R&D, and prepare students to meet the demands of the job market.
These are important tasks the government needs to address. ” On the proposed Bidadi township project, the woman said the CM had spoken about creating more employment opportunities for local residents through the initiative. If you look at higher-education budgets over the past several years, there has been no appreciable increase. She argued that this objective would not be achieved if companies continued to prefer candidates from other states.