New Delhi: In a pitch from within the Congress leadership for caution and course-correction in the Siddaramaiah government‘s resolve for a job quota for local Kannadigas in industry and business establishments in Karnataka, former chief minister and CWC member Veerappa Moily said while the government’s aim for creating more jobs for local Kannadigas “is noble” but the proposed legislation for such a quota “is flawed” and fraught with many consequences”. Instead, Moily advocated the state government take “a holistic view” in generating more jobs “that will not curb investment or lead to the relocation of industry and investment from Karnataka to other waiting states”.
In an interview to ET, Moily disproved the proposed (and now “temporarily” halted) legislation for a Kannadiga job quota with a reminder to one and all: “Karnataka is made rich not by Kannadigas alone but also with the contributions and hard work of industrialists, investors and employees from outside the state. That productive engagement should be preserved for the further economic progress of Karnataka.”
Elaborating on his opposition to the proposed quota, Moily said, “You can’t have that kind of reservation on a straight line. There are curves and creases that need to be accommodated in a policy. Ever since the report of the Sarojini Mahishi Committee, appointed about 45-50 years ago in Karnataka for finding ways to provide employment for the local Kannadiga people, this and many earlier state governments and many Kannada activists simply keep demanding implementation of the Sarojini Mahishi commission proposal for this job quota for local Kannadigas. But the fact is a lot of water has flown under the bridge during the last 45 years. So blindly implementing that report is not feasible now. The investment climate in Karnataka has totally changed. Before thinking of such a quota, the government must find ways and means to expand (inflow of) private investments that should lead to more jobs for locals,”
Drawing on his insight and experience as a former CM and Ex-Union corporate affairs and law minister, Moily also forewarned the state government. “Any legislation for a quota for local Kannadigas will lead to legal complications as it will clash with the Article14 of the Constitution besides raising questions of discrimination, political interference and red-tapes. The manner the court struck down such a quota in Haryana and the fact AP is in legal tangle now over a similar quota are pointers. While the purpose of the Karnataka government is laudable, the method through which the state government is aiming to do so is flawed.”
He also cautioned on a problem closer home. “Further, the whole Karnataka is not homogeneous in economic and social standards. Even if such a quota is implemented, the educationally and economically well-off Kannadigas of Bengaluru and Mangaluru will bag most jobs, leaving the Kannadigas of the backward regions including Hyderabad-Karnataka and Bombay-Karnataka feeling neglected and agitated.”
