mohandas pai | Karnataka job quota bill: There’s no right to a job & one has to compete for it; Karnataka job quota bill is unconstitutional and fascist, says Mohandas Pai

Given that Karnataka has a huge base of startups, a tech industry that is flourishing, IT sector which is a huge sunrise sector for the country as well, what are your key apprehensions over the job quota bill and what kind of impact will it have on companies operating in the state. Although IT Minister Priyank Kharge has said there will be consultations, why is having reservations in private jobs a bad idea?
Mohandas Pai: No, it reflects the government’s failure to create jobs. It is a very populist measure to show people they are doing something and maybe this is an attempt to divert attention from the scams. Maybe it is a part of the internal power struggle, we do not know. Because all of us are very shocked. How could a progressive liberal state like Karnataka do this at a time when there are more jobs than local people coming up for jobs?

Karnataka produces a lot of jobs. If you look at all the data, there are more jobs than people graduating. If you look at multiple sectors, construction, and infrastructure, there are not enough people from Karnataka. Security, we are not getting enough people from Karnataka. Even in IT, we are not getting enough qualified people because the higher education sector has not seen great investment in Karnataka. More people are coming from, let us say Andhra and we are not seeing much skill development happening here which meets industry requirements.

Also, there is not money in infrastructure in places like Mysore, Bangalore, etc. They have been talking about it for the last 15 years. They are not putting enough money. It is talk, talk, talk. Now, I think this government has come. This is a populist government. They give away Rs 60,000 crore of money as freebies to most people. Nothing wrong, except it is not for the poor. Give it to the poor, that is fine.

Recently, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who should have known better, said that he was shocked to see that 80% of people in Karnataka have a BPL card. You cannot believe 80% are poor. So, there is misuse of government subsidies and there is non-application of mind. The industry minister and the IT minister appear surprised that this has happened, that this bill has come. It is a sign of a dysfunctional government in my view.

And perhaps this is also reflected in how the state government has responded to this crisis. Given how entrenched these companies are in the state, are these companies considering moving to other states? What is the impact? If this bill gets passed, what kind of impact will it have on these companies?
Mohandas Pai: I think that the bill is not going to be implemented, that is for sure. I am sure that Karnataka will not implement the bill because the threat is very real. As for companies going away from here, they may not shift, but expansion in Karnataka may be hit because people are losing trust in the government. They are not very sure. What are the parties driving this? They want stability and that is a problem. As Tamil Nadu has got a better policy, we want to see what happens. But Bangalore still has the deepest pool of tech talent in the world. It has a great advantage, but growth may be slower, that is the problem. We want Bangalore to grow 15-20% with more and more startups coming and creating jobs. Now growth may be slower because trust in the government is broken. First of all, in the last one-and-a-half years, they have not invested enough in Bangalore. The traffic problem is not solved. The roads still have potholes. We still have problems and they are very unsympathetic. The minister for Bangalore is very powerful. He is a businessman and a politician, that is what he says. He has got interest in the real estate sector and yes, he has made a lot of promises, but nothing much has happened. And that trust in the government’s ability to change is coming down dramatically day by day.

But let me also get back to the point that you mentioned earlier. Is this only vote bank politics or is it a genuine intent to create jobs? If the idea is to promote jobs, then there should be more money spent on the education budget and of course, jobs. A similar matter is now with the Supreme Court, given its unconstitutional provisions for Haryana.
Mohandas Pai: Absolutely. I think they failed to do anything to create jobs last year. They have not increased the education budget. The skill development budget needs an increase. They have not done many things. And they take the easy way out and go for reservation. It is a dream that they are trying to sell to people and people are not getting fooled. People are not getting fooled. There is no money in the state. The chief economic advisor to the chief minister says, we do not have the money to put into development and what are they trying to do?

They spoiled their name by giving freebies to everybody. They should have given it to the poor. Giving to the poor is fine, but not Rs 60,000 crore. The state road transport organisation is broke. They cannot pay salaries. The LCA distribution companies will also run out of money because the free power is going to hit everybody. So, it is a mess. And then we have the Industry Minister MB Patil working very hard to get investments into India. He is working very hard and now when he sees this, it will be a setback for him. The IT Minister has promised good policies. He wants IT to come up beyond Bangalore, which is very good, but they have to invest beyond Bangalore. He is not able to invest.

Also, the Karnataka chief minister is past 75. I do not think he understands the importance of IT and everybody else and this is a problem. this is a problem because when people focus exclusively on something called social justice, which for them means increasing reservation and giving freebies, they are not focusing on job creation.

You spoke about the drying up of jobs and investors moving out. A similar concern has also been raised by NASSCOM, the tech industry body as well. But some from the startup sector, for instance, PhonePe CEO, Sameer Nigam, say that if his kids do not deserve a job in the city, then isn’t that wrong? What is your assessment of the statement coming in from him, which seems to be that a job is a right if you have grown up in a particular city?
Mohandas Pai: Look, there are jobs and you must compete. Job is not a right. Nobody has the right to a job. You must compete. You must upgrade your skills and you cannot say, I am a local, I am entitled to a job. It cannot happen anywhere in the world. Jobs are not an entitlement. I do not think anybody can make a statement that I am born here, I am entitled to a job. They are very wrong.

The issue of jobs is that it is not an entitlement but has to be based on merit instead of reservation. Now, the government says that the idea of this bill was to get investors to boost job creation. But will it not have the opposite impact given the skilling differences of those who are already in the system because of merit and those who will be in the system because of their quotas? How does this bill help solve the skilling question?
Mohandas Pai: The bill will not help in solving the job or upskilling problems. It will drive away jobs. It will drive away investors, and drive away industry to other states. Let us be very clear. The bill has to be junked. The bill is illegal, unconstitutional, regressive, discriminatory, and fascist. Why am I saying fascist? Because it is totalitarian. They want to control your company. They want to put a person on your equipment committee. They want to come and check your records every day. You cannot hire anybody without their permission. This is an extreme left regime.

I am very shocked at their thinking. How can they think like this and put it down on paper? Has anybody applied their mind? It went to the cabinet. All these people, IT minister, Bangalore minister, industry minister, went to the cabinet. The cabinet passed a note. The chief minister was there in the cabinet. Have they read this bill at all to understand what it means? I do not know the kind of non-application of mind in this. Because they sent a negative message. Yes, they have withdrawn it. They said we would consult. But you have destroyed the brand, you have destroyed trust. How will people trust you in the future? You cannot do this. These people should understand that.