Terrorism: Framing Muslim youth in Karnataka

Kalaburagi, July 17: BJP leader Manikanth Rathod has been arrested in connection with theft of rice meant for Anna Bhagya scheme, police said on Wednesday.

The Shahapur police arrested Rathod from his residence in the district headquarter town of Kalaburagi.

"Manikanth has been arrested in connection with the theft of 6,077 quintals of rice worth more than Rs two crore from a government warehouse in Shahapur in Yadgir district," the sources said.

The BJP leader was summoned by the police to appear before it for questioning, which he ignored due to which he was arrested.

Rathod had contested the 2023 assembly election on the BJP ticket against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's son Priyank Kharge and lost.

Anna Bhagya scheme offers 10 kg food grains to each member of the family belonging to the economically weaker sections of the society every month.

The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar's petition challenging the CBI's FIR against him in a disproportionate assets case.

The bench, comprising Justices Bela M Trivedi and S C Sharma, stated it would not interfere with the Karnataka High Court's decision.

The case involves allegations by the CBI that Shivakumar accumulated assets disproportionate to his income from 2013 to 2018. 

The FIR was initially filed in September 2020, with an investigation mandated to be concluded within three months by the high court.

Bengaluru: The Congress government in Karnataka on Wednesday defended its move to reserve jobs in private sector for Kannadigas in the state, even as industry veterans objected to the proposed quota, calling it 'fascist,' and 'short-sighted.' The government also sought to reach out to the private sector, saying their interests will be protected.

The state cabinet on Monday cleared the Karnataka State Employment of Local Candidates in the Industries, Factories and Other Establishments Bill, 2024, making it compulsory for private firms to reserve jobs for Kannadigas in their establishments. It is likely to be tabled in the Assembly on Thursday.

"Any industry, factory or other establishments shall appoint fifty percent of local candidates in management categories and seventy percent in non-management categories," the bill read.

If the candidates do not possess secondary school certificate with Kannada as a language, they should then pass a Kannada proficiency test as specified by the 'Nodal Agency', it added.

The nodal agency will have powers to call for any records, information or documents in the possession of an employer or occupier or manager of an establishment for the purpose of verifying the report.

The Government may appoint an officer not below the rank of Assistant Labour Commissioner as the authorised officer regarding compliance of the provisions of the Act.

Any Employer or Occupier or Manager of an Establishment, who contravenes the provisions of this Act should be liable for a penalty between Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000.

Hailing the bill, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said, "The Congress came to power in Karnataka to uphold the dignity of the Kannadigas--be it the issue of signboards of private establishments, the Kannada flag, Kannada language, culture, documents or specific percentage of reservation in jobs for Kannadigas."

Minister for Infrastructure Development, Medium and Heavy Industries M B Patil also backed the bill saying there is no doubt that Kannadigas should get jobs in Karnataka.

He, however, underlined that the interests of the industries will also be safeguarded.

"In private sector, certain ranks of posts will be reserved 100 percent for Kannadigas. The interests of industries will also be protected." In a statement issued by his office, the Minister was quoted as saying that he will discuss with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, IT-BT, Law and Labour Ministers in the event of any confusion in the bill.

"The government will also work on the skill development of Kannadigas. We cannot miss the bright opportunities of manufacturing sector and industrial revolution," he said.

"This bill will be discussed with all concerned. There is no need to worry in this regard," Patil said.

The move, however, has not gone down well with industry leaders.

Well-known entrepreneur and former Chief Finance Officer of Infosys, TV Mohandas Pai dubbed the bill as "fascist."

"This bill should be junked. It is discriminatory, regressive and against the constitution @Jairam_Ramesh (Congress leader) is govt to certify who we are? This is a fascist bill as in Animal Farm, unbelievable that @INCIndia can come up with a bill like this- a govt officer will sit on recruitment committees of private sector? People have to take a language test?" Pai said on 'X'.

Pharma company Biocon Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said, "As a tech hub we need skilled talent and whilst the aim is to provide jobs for locals, we must not affect our leading position in technology by this move. There must be caveats that exempt highly skilled recruitment from this policy."

ASSOCHAM, Karnataka co-chairman R K Misra said on 'X', "Another genius move from Govt of Karnataka. Mandate LOCAL RESERVATION & APPOINT GOVT OFFICER IN EVERY COMPANY to monitor. This will scare Indian IT & GCCs. Short sighted."

Karnataka's move is similar to a bill introduced by the Haryana government, mandating 75 per cent reservation in private sector jobs to the residents of the state. It was, however, struck down the Punjab and Haryana High Court on November 17, 2023.