PoliticsKarnataka
Pro-Kannada activists take job demands into Bengaluru IT parks, brush aside Shivakumar's appeal
Karnataka Rakshana Vedike delegations walked into tech offices from Bagmane Tech Park to HPE's KR Puram campus, asking firms how many Kannadigas they employ. The state government had asked them to stay away.
Key points
- Karnataka Rakshana Vedike delegations visited IT offices across Bengaluru with memorandums.
- They want firms to disclose three years of recruitment data and their share of Kannadiga staff.
- D K Shivakumar had urged groups not to visit IT-BT companies directly.
Activists of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike have walked into Bengaluru’s technology offices with a blunt question for employers: how many of your staff are Kannadigas? The drive went on into Tuesday, with the group shrugging off an appeal from the state government to keep away from the companies.
The group, led by state president T A Narayana Gowda, launched a month-long statewide campaign on 1 November, Kannada Rajyotsava, to press for fairer hiring of qualified local candidates in private firms. On Monday its delegations handed memorandums at Bagmane Tech Park in C V Raman Nagar, Hewlett Packard Enterprise in B Narayanapura near KR Puram, Executive Centre India at Safina Tower on Ali Asker Road and Quality Evaluations on Magadi Road.
What the Vedike wants to know
The memorandums ask each firm for its total workforce, the share of employees from Karnataka, recruitment figures for the past three years and its hiring criteria. They also ask what is being done about alleged discrimination against Kannadigas and call for more skill training and internships for local youth. The Vedike says companies that use Karnataka’s infrastructure and talent should give back in local jobs, and that it is gathering information rather than targeting any one firm. It said the response at Bagmane Tech Park was positive.
Government asks for restraint
D K Shivakumar had appealed to pro-Kannada groups to stay out of company premises. “I appeal to all organisations not to visit IT-BT companies directly or take matters into their own hands,” he said. “Such issues must be resolved through dialogue and within the framework of the law.” He added that the government “remains firmly committed to protecting the rights and interests of Kannadigas”.
The Vedike has rejected the appeal and pressed on, saying it will take what it collects to the companies and the state government. On 25 October Shivakumar had warned that the government would act if private institutions were found deliberately sidelining Kannadigas.
The campaign revives a fight from 2024, when Karnataka’s proposed law reserving private-sector jobs for locals was put on hold after strong opposition from industry. No company has commented publicly on the visits.