All companies in the state, including private firms set up by entrepreneurs from outside, will have to make knowing Kannada a compulsory eligibility criterion for job seekers.
All companies in Karnataka, including private firms set up by entrepreneurs from other states, would have to make knowing Kannada a must eligibility criterion for job seekers if a proposal mooted by the Kannada Development Authority (KDA) is passed.
There is more. The rule would also apply to employees who are already on the rolls of such companies.
"We plan to insist that people coming to the state to set up business should recruit only those who are able to speak and understand Kannada," Mukhyamantri Chandru, who is chairman of the KDA and not the chief minister, told DNA.
"After the [state legislature] session comes to a close, I will discuss the issue with chief minister BS Yeddyurappa as this has to be framed as a rule at the government level," he said.
Chandru said the rule will not just apply to new firms or those planning to set up business in Karnataka, but for all, including existing ones.
The KDA plan, he said, involves amending the memoranda of understanding (MoU) between outstation entrepreneurs and the state government before setting up business in the state so that relevant clauses to this effect could be included.
"The KDA will also insist on the state government's right to cancel the permits of companies which do not adhere to this rule," he said.
He said the state government had accepted the Sarojini Mahishi report, which recommended that even private firms should recruit Kannadigas for grade C and D jobs. "But while signing the agreements with these companies, nobody, including former governments in Karnataka, had considered the recommendations," he said.
Chandru claimed that in Karnataka, Kannadigas themselves are being treated like a minority. "Those from other states coming into Karnataka must realise that without learning Kannada, it would be difficult for them to survive in this state," he said.
He blamed earlier governments in the state for not giving priority to Kannada and Kannadigas in the job sector. He said this had ultimately led to problems like non-implementation of the state's language policy in schools.
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