Job aspirants hold protest in Dharwad; Chief Minister explains reasons for recruitment delay

Hundreds of young job aspirants held a massive protest in Dharwad on Tuesday, forcing Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to issue a release acknowledging their concerns and elaborating on the causes for the delay in recruitments.

Youngsters, mainly those who had enrolled themselves in competitive examination coaching centres in Dharwad, started the protest on a peaceful note, but the situation escalated as police efforts to restrain them from taking out a rally went in vain and the decision to detain their leader Kanthakumar backfired.

The enraged protesters tore up and burnt posters and banners of the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister, and Ministers. The banners of BJP leaders, erected in support of the protest, also bore the brunt of their anger, as the protesters were keen to keep their stir non-partisan. They raised “go back” slogans against Leaders of the Opposition in the Assembly and Council R. Ashok and Chalavadi Narayanaswamy.

The protest concluded with Mr. Kanthakumar submitting a memorandum to Deputy Commissioner R. Snehal, who assured the protestors of forwarding it to the government.

The Chief Minister, in his release, stated that the massive backlog of 2.65 lakh posts was “the result of prolonged inaction under the previous BJP government.“ He alleged that the saffron party was now “attempting to instigate unrest.”

He claimed that the present situation was largely a consequence of the series of recruitment irregularities and corruption scandals between 2019 and 2023, which eroded trust in the system and resulted in a massive backlog of vacancies. Legal challenges surrounding internal reservation added to the problem and any decision in a rush would jeopardise the careers of thousands of candidates, he said in the release.

Despite these structural and legal constraints, recruitment process for 40,000 posts had been completed and considering the delay, the age criteria had been relaxed by over five years for upcoming recruitments, he said, promising that filling up the remaining vacancies would be further accelerated in a transparent, systematic, and time-bound manner.

Mr. Siddaramaiah has appealed to the aspirants to focus on their education, skill-building, and preparation with confidence and patience.

HDK reacts

Reacting on the development, Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy posted on X that while a staggering 2.94 lakh government posts remained vacant, only Cabinet-rank positions were being filled up showcasing the priority of the Congress government.

“Three invaluable years have been squandered in chair politics, leaving little time for the aspirations of the youth. This drift in governance is already having adverse consequences on the ground. The government must act with urgency, step down from the third floor of the Vidhana Soudha, and listen to the voice of the youth,” he said in the post.