Even as the 75% job reservation in the private sector in Haryana seems to have riled the industry in a major way, the BJP-JJP alliance government hopes that the move will politically counter the ‘negative’ sentiments on the ground created by the farmers’ agitation.
Under the Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Act, 2020, the private sector will have to employ 75% from the local candidates in jobs where the gross monthly salary or wages are not more than ₹50,000. Though the bill was passed in November last year, the Governor gave an assent to the bill a few days back making it a law.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has termed the decision as violative of the “Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat” vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“At a time when it is important to attract investments at state level, the Haryana government could have avoided imposing restrictions on industry. Reservation affects productivity and industry competitiveness,” the Director General of the CII, Chandrajit Banerjee, said in a statement.
But the populist job quota move is being seen in political circles as an attempt by the alliance government to ‘dilute’ the impact of the farmers stir that has set the politically powerful Jat community on a collision course with the government. The job quota was an election promise made by the BJPs coalition partner, the Jannayak Janata Party (JJP), as a run up to last year’s Assembly election.
More than the BJP, it’s the JJP that has taken a big hit due to the farmers’ stir with the Jats forming the core of its vote bank. A reason why JJP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala was quick to go to town once the bill got an assent by the Governor.
“It has been at the core of our electoral promise. We wanted to get this for thousands of our Haryanavi brothers seeking jobs and we have fulfilled our promise,” Chautala said.
Political observers say by promising jobs in the private sector to the State residents, a big chunk of which is constituted of Jats, the JJP believes it could negate the impact of the farmers stir.
“Unemployment is a major issue in the State with pandemic worsening it. This move helps the government in sending a positive message to the jobless youths,” said a senior party leader.
But the Congress has trashed the claims. “It a hogwash. Leave aside providing jobs, it is employing 75% people from other States in their own recruitment. In the recent SDO recruitment in the Electricity Department, it has done so. While 99 people have been selected for 90 general category posts, including nine on the waiting list, only 22 of them are from Haryana,” claimed Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda.
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