New Delhi: The Congress and its government in Karnataka find themselves in a quandary over the now “temporarily” halted proposed law framed to ensure quota for locals in private sector jobs. According to some party leaders, if the bill was born out of the political compulsions of the Karnataka Congress and its government to fulfill their electoral promises, its halting in the wake of the protests from industry demonstrated the government’s administrative compulsions to be sensitive to the backslash from business and investors to the proposals and avert a capital flight from Bengaluru.
Congress leaders pointed out that the party’s election manifesto in the run-up to the state assembly election had promised such a quota in the private sector. “There is a growing sense of disenchantment among the local Kannadiga population that their youths are not finding enough jobs, even as industry, business and investments are growing in Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka with active support of the state government,” said a senior Karnataka Congress leader who did not wish to be identified. “Some studies claim the local population does not have even a 20% share in these jobs. The Congress has, therefore, made promises, especially to the locals in the C and D categories in the private sector. There seems to be some confusion, especially after the talk of quota in managerial jobs. That will have to be sorted out.” The state cabinet’s quota push, incidentally, came after the Karnataka Congress’ below par performance in the Lok Sabha polls.
After the flip-flop on the issue, the task for the state government, according to some Congress functionaries, is to find ways to remain engaged with the stakeholders, including business representatives, even while managing the political task of not facing the charge of going back under pressure or burying a pre-poll promise.
As the development also led to murmurs on whether the CMO had made the required wider consultations among cabinet ministers and party functionaries for a consensus, and whether it was ready with a blue-print on its implications on, and possible responses from, the business and investment community, AICC functionaries also said that the CMO’s clarification on halting the move came after a nudge from the Congress high command, especially after the backlash from the industry.
Nonetheless, the Rahul Gandhi-powered Congress establishment has been high on quota politics of late, and was fully on board not only with the Karnataka Congress’ pre-poll proposal but also with the Telangana Congress promise for quota in private sector both in education and employment.
“Now the cabinet will have to find a way to tackle the issue. There is a proposal that it could constitute a committee of ministers and representatives of the industry and investment community to study the bill and the way ahead,” said an AICC functionary
