Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has paused a bill directing private firms to reserve jobs for Kannadigas, pending further study. The bill, cleared Monday, mandates 70% reservation for non-management roles and 50% for management positions in India’s IT capital. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who announced the quotas, said his “pro-Kannada government” aims to ensure all Kannadigas have job opportunities in their homeland.

However, the Chief Minister’s post on X mandated 100% reservation at certain levels, sparking outrage from business leaders like Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and the BJP. Surprisingly, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale supported the bill, advocating for reservations for backward classes in the private sector.

The Chief Minister’s post was later deleted after Labour Minister Santosh Lad clarified that companies could hire from outside the state if suitable skilled candidates were unavailable locally.