On Wednesday, Ramdas Athawale, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment and leader of the Republican Party of India (Athawale), demanded that the Government of India and state governments implement reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in private sector jobs. Athawale argued that there is a lack of job opportunities for candidates from Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the private sector, and that this issue could worsen if more government sector companies become privatized. He clarified that his party does not oppose candidates from the General Category.
This demand comes amidst controversy in Karnataka, where the state government is considering a proposal to reserve 70% of non-management private sector jobs and 50% of management-level positions for Kannadigas. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had initially announced 100% reservation for Kannadigas, but later clarified that the cap would be 70% for non-management roles and 50% for management-level employees. A social media post announcing 100% reservation was deleted in the afternoon.
